BleedGopher
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per SI:
So what's the deal for the national semifinals on April 5?
For starters, TBS will televise both national semifinal games, the first time in tournament history the semifinal games will be televised on a cable network. But here's an even bigger nod toward the cable side of the partnership: The semifinals will air across three cable networks this year -- TBS, TNT and truTV. TBS will air the traditional Final Four broadcast -- aiming for neutrality -- with Nantz, Anthony and Kerr. But here's where it gets interesting: The telecasts on TNT and truTV will be team-specific broadcasts where a separate play-by-play announcer, analyst and sideline reporter (Turner and CBS will start negotiating with potential broadcasters after the Sweet 16) will be encouraged to call the game with as much homerism as their pom-poms can muster. The "Teamcast" productions will have separate production crews, a custom halftime show, and custom graphics and stats geared toward each team. Commercials will be the same for all three telecasts. The title game will air on CBS two nights later.
Who will be the announcers for these team-specific broadcasts?
That won't be decided until after the Sweet 16. Turner Sports senior vice president Craig Barry said he has a spreadsheet in his Atlanta office with a list of 120 potential announcers depending on the teams that advance. Ideally, Barry said he wants broadcasters with a level of professional experience who have called games in some form for those schools. It's not inconceivable a team's radio broadcasters would freelance for Turner Sports for the day. "If we can create an extended experience that really generates a lot of excitement and differentiates itself from our national telecast, then we have done our job," Barry said.
1. Though he would not name specific colleagues, Barkley said Turner's NBA announcers were given the cold shoulder from CBS's on-air college basketball staffers at the beginning of the CBS/Turner partnership. "Some of these guys are jerk---s," he said, refusing to name names when pressed. "They didn't treat us very well because they thought we were trying to take their jobs. You could just tell there was a little tension in the beginning. 'Dude, I'm not trying to take your job. I'm not even sure we want to do this.' But Dan Bonner was great to me and called me and said here's my number and anytime you want to talk about players or teams. He was a great resource. Some of these guys were a little distant. I should not call them jerk---s. But they were a little distant. They looked at it like a competition. I mean, dude, we're not trying to take your job. Relax. They have gotten a lot better, because I think they realize, number one, they didn't lose their job. We are in this together. And we are going to do this during March Madness. I think the tension has eased and we've done a lot better, but the first time we got together they weren't very friendly."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mo...-circus-ncaa-tournament-primer/index.html#all
Go Gophers!!
So what's the deal for the national semifinals on April 5?
For starters, TBS will televise both national semifinal games, the first time in tournament history the semifinal games will be televised on a cable network. But here's an even bigger nod toward the cable side of the partnership: The semifinals will air across three cable networks this year -- TBS, TNT and truTV. TBS will air the traditional Final Four broadcast -- aiming for neutrality -- with Nantz, Anthony and Kerr. But here's where it gets interesting: The telecasts on TNT and truTV will be team-specific broadcasts where a separate play-by-play announcer, analyst and sideline reporter (Turner and CBS will start negotiating with potential broadcasters after the Sweet 16) will be encouraged to call the game with as much homerism as their pom-poms can muster. The "Teamcast" productions will have separate production crews, a custom halftime show, and custom graphics and stats geared toward each team. Commercials will be the same for all three telecasts. The title game will air on CBS two nights later.
Who will be the announcers for these team-specific broadcasts?
That won't be decided until after the Sweet 16. Turner Sports senior vice president Craig Barry said he has a spreadsheet in his Atlanta office with a list of 120 potential announcers depending on the teams that advance. Ideally, Barry said he wants broadcasters with a level of professional experience who have called games in some form for those schools. It's not inconceivable a team's radio broadcasters would freelance for Turner Sports for the day. "If we can create an extended experience that really generates a lot of excitement and differentiates itself from our national telecast, then we have done our job," Barry said.
1. Though he would not name specific colleagues, Barkley said Turner's NBA announcers were given the cold shoulder from CBS's on-air college basketball staffers at the beginning of the CBS/Turner partnership. "Some of these guys are jerk---s," he said, refusing to name names when pressed. "They didn't treat us very well because they thought we were trying to take their jobs. You could just tell there was a little tension in the beginning. 'Dude, I'm not trying to take your job. I'm not even sure we want to do this.' But Dan Bonner was great to me and called me and said here's my number and anytime you want to talk about players or teams. He was a great resource. Some of these guys were a little distant. I should not call them jerk---s. But they were a little distant. They looked at it like a competition. I mean, dude, we're not trying to take your job. Relax. They have gotten a lot better, because I think they realize, number one, they didn't lose their job. We are in this together. And we are going to do this during March Madness. I think the tension has eased and we've done a lot better, but the first time we got together they weren't very friendly."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mo...-circus-ncaa-tournament-primer/index.html#all
Go Gophers!!
