It's the first time both games have been on a cable outlet.
In addition to the cable change, TNT and truTV provide team-specific broadcasts as part of the overall package -- and that change comes with its own challenges and opportunities.
Game coverage on TBS begins at 6 p.m. with Connecticut-Florida, followed by Kentucky-Wisconsin. CBS Sports play-by-play man Jim Nantz leads the on-air team that includes analysts Greg Anthony and Steve Kerr and reporter Tracy Wolfson.
So far, Nantz/Anthony have proven capable if unspectacular during the tournament. Both Anthony and Kerr (who is not joining the top team until this weekend, as he has in previous years) have had their moments of general informativeness without anything especially insightful or timely. They also both struggled at key moments in the regional round. Starting tonight, they can only be better.
Still, hype for tonight's games has been lees about the primary broadcast than two others that will originate from the Final Four at the same time.
After months of hype, these games provide the debut of team-specific broadcasts on TBS and truTV. It's another way for broadcasters to leverage the power of the NCAA Tournament and provide something they think will be well received by viewers.
So, TNT will offer the "teamcasts" for Florida and Kentucky while truTV provides home-grown announcers to call the games for Connecticut and Wisconsin. It'll be interesting to hear and watch what happens.
Some hard-core fans might appreciate being able to turn away from Nantz & Co., and network officials have encouraged the team-specific broadcasters to be highly supportive and team specific. It's an interesting concept. And it would be even better if it were not strongly contrived in this instance … because many of those doing the games are not the team's regular broadcasters.
The on-air pros who would know the teams best, the team's radio broadcasters, were prohibited from participating by their respective rights holders. Still, the personnel working the games does have ties to the programs. At the same time, they should be careful with how much they go into cheerleader mode, or even if they do.
Here's the team-by-team talent:
- Florida: David Steele, voice of the Orlando Magic who has experience on Florida basketball and football; analyst Mark Wise, who has worked Gators games for 14 years; and reporter James Bates, a former Florida football player.
- UConn: Erice Frede, a studio host for UConn games on CSN New England; analyst Donny Marshall, a former UConn standout and YES Network NBA analyst; and reporter Swin Cash, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA women's champ at UConn.
- Kentucky: Rob Bromley, who has worked for UKTV for more than 30 years; analyst Rex Chapman, a 12-year NBA veteran and all-SEC player at UK; and reporter Dave Baker, who does TV play-by-play for UK.
- Wisconsin: Wayne Larrivee of the Big Ten Network, who is also the radio voice of the Green Bay Packers; and analyst Mike Kelley, a member of Wisconsin's 2000 team that reached the Final Four.
Here's why they should be careful about what they do:
Fans know and trust these folks (maybe the former athletes, Marshall, Cash and Chapman, even more than the broadcasters) but those same fans want good broadcasts more than some "homers" thrown out there on a national cable outlet. For UK, Bromley and Baker bring years of expertise and familiarity to the job, but there has to be a balance so they do not become caricatures.
Fans and viewers appreciate access, information and insight more than rah-rah silliness, so how that gets balanced in these broadcasts will be interesting to watch.
Individually, Larrivee might be in the most challenging position. Most times when he draws a Wisconsin assignment, he's working a game in which he must not be biased. Tonight, though, he's supposedly being encouraged to do so. He's' really good at what he does. Hopefully that will not change tonight.
No matter who's working, expect the games to be a ratings success. First, they'll be a first-of-their kind approach, so they'll provide a baseline and a way to measure such broadcasts moving forward. Second, they'll probably out-draw whatever TBS or truTV could've done to counter program the tournament.
Still, it seems like an even less expensive and more fan-friendly approach to multiple-outlet broadcasts would be the approach ESPN used for the national championship game in football.
Some real-time analysis, with coaches or their cadre of college basketball analysts CBS/TNT already employs would seem to be just as watchable, and by just as many fans. Unlike football, though, basketball's faster pace might not provide as much time for such analysis. Still, that's exactly how viewers consume games -- often talking together while the action happens -- so a second-guessing-while-it-happens approach might be better, and should be considered in the future.
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