Out with the old and in with the new.

Once there was a day when the over-air broadcast networks dominated.  Now, cable and satellite networks are turning those over-air broadcasters into “just another channel.”

Gasps were heard when ESPN nabbed the BCS games and college football’s championship game starting in 2011.  Turner Sports surprised as well when it became CBS’ broadcast partner on the NCAA Tournament in 2011.

Moving some of those basketball games to cable certainly hasn’t hurt ratings.  This past year’s tourney was the most-watched in 19 years.  So it shouldn’t be a surprise that Turner (and cable) are getting an even bigger part of the tourney package moving forward.

It was announced today that TBS will now begin splitting Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four, and championship games with CBS.  In 2014 and 2015, TBS will get the semifinals and CBS will handle the finals.  In 2016, TBS will air the championship game, marking the first time in the history of the tournament that its final game will be broadcast via cable.

The proliferation of cable and satellite television viewers over the past decade helps to explain why the SEC — which took a measured approach to launching its own television channel — has decided that the time is right to create an SEC Network (with ESPN).

How long cable and satellite will rule, however, is the question.  With more television content being delivered online every day, the window for cable and satellite outlets could be much shorter than that of the well-aged over-air broadcast networks.  Which is why the SEC spent as much time touting the online/digital portion of its new ESPN deal as it did pimping its new television property last week.

Eyes forward, folks.  Eyes forward.

In case you needed more proof that the television habits of Americans are changing, the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four could follow in the footsteps of college football’s BCS bowls and move to cable.

The move could come as early as next spring.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Turner and CBS — who partner to air the NCAA Tournament — are discussing an arrangement that would give Turner’s TNT, TBS, and TruTV properties the opportunity to air the late-round games.  Currently, the Turner outlets handle early-round games alongside CBS.

Turner wants to grab the Final Four quickly because its parent company — Time Warner — is about to enter into a new round of negotiations with cable and satellite providers.  Having the NCAA’s Final Four would give Turner and Time Warner quite a bit of leverage in those negotiations.

Jim Nantz has broadcast the Final Four for 28 years in a row now.  But if Turner takes over, Marv Albert — or someone else — could be handed the play-by-play duties.

This year’s NCAA Tournament ratings have been the highest in nearly two decades.

In case you’re needing a little help tracking down the three NCAA Tournament games involving SEC squads today… here goes:


#4 Kentucky vs #13 Princeton
2:45pm ET on CBS


#5 Vanderbilt vs #12 Richmond
4:10pm ET on TBS


#2 Florida vs #15 UC-Santa Barbara
6:50pm ET on TBS


The full NCAA tourney schedule — complete with start times and networks — can be found right here.

There was a time — back when I was working for The Man — when I would use two of my vacation days each year on the opening Thursday and Friday of the NCAA Tournament.  To me, there’s nothing better event-wise than March Madness.  So on paper, what I’m about to share with you looks pretty good.  On paper.

CBS Sports and Turner Sports announced their plans for NCAA tourney coverage today and a few of the main points are listed below:


* Every game of the tournament will be broadcast nationally.  This is a first.  If you’ve got cable or satellite television in your home, you can see every game on CBS, TBS, TNT or TruTV.  No longer will you have to worry about your local CBS affiliate showing a game that you don’t want to see.

* The start times for games will be more staggered than in years past.  Fans will literally be able to watch tourney action from noon to midnight without the usual 6-7:30pm break in the action.

* CBS will carry 26 games including the Final Four.  TBS will carry 16 games, TNT 12, and TruTV will air 13 including the First Four play-in games, which debut this year.


Again, all that looks good on paper.  Whether or not basketball fans take to the new broadcast format — and the new broadcast teams — remains to be seen.