Changes to the NCAA Tournament

HOW THE TOURNAMENT CHANGES:

Let us break down some of the details about how the 2011 NCAA tournament is
changing compared to previous years.



WHERE TO WATCH:

The tournament broadcast environment is vastly different this
year. Now, every game will be broadcast -- in its entirety. No more
waiting for halftime cut-ins, or post-game "bonus coverage" to watch
portions of some games. It will take 4 networks to show all of these
games, with Turner's truTV, TBS, and TNT cable outlets joining CBS in
broadcasting the tournament.

So our first tip is to find out -- now -- where the 3 Turner channels
are on your cable or satellite lineup.




TV SCHEDULE:

For the love of the tournament, check this link now and keep it handy
as a way to get a feel for the busy television schedule over the next
few weeks:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2011-03-08/men's-march-madness-tv-schedule

While games are listed only as "Game 1," "Game 2," and so on, we see
how truTV, TBS, and TNT are woven into the tournament broadcast
schedule. For example, truTV will broadcast all of the Tuesday and
Wednesday games from Dayton. The games will start at 6:30pm and
9:00pm on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

And here is the early afternoon schedule for the Thursday games that
starts the Round of 64:

12:00pm: Game #1 on CBS
12:30pm: Game #1 on truTV
1:30pm: Game #1 on TBS
2:00pm: Game #1 on TNT

Game #2, Game #3, etc., follow later in the day on each of the 4
televising networks.

The Friday games are on exactly the same schedule.

Good luck watching those overlapping games. Keep a fresh set of
batteries handy for your remote control.




MARCH MADNESS ON DEMAND:

The NCAA and their broadcast partners continue their amazing (read:
FREE) March Madness On Demand online streaming service. This allows
us to watch out-of-market games online. I am not certain, though,
why we need MMOD as much as in the past, since all games will be
broadcast by CBS or one of the Turner cable outlets. Certainly,
having a computer available as a second TV monitor adds a great deal
of convenience in watching the tournament.

MMOD is also expanded to allow streaming of games to the iPhone, iPod
Touch, and iPads.

Visit this link to sign up and get more info:
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2011-03-03/enhanced-mmod-ready-debut


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