- Part 1 covers 1969-1981 when NBC held the network rights and both TVS and NCAA Productions also televised games. This era saw the initial ESPN involvement in the tournament and spans from Curt Gowdy to the legendary team of Dick Enberg, Billy Packer, and Al McGuire.
- Part 2 covers 1982-1990 when CBS took over the network contract, hired Packer, expanded its coverage, and moved to later start times. The era kicked off with Gary Bender as the lead voice and finished with Brent Musburger.
- Part 3 covers the modern era of 1991-present starting when CBS took over the entire tournament. Jim Nantz has been the voice of the Final Four throughout this period which takes things up to the current CBS partnership with Turner Sports providing coverage of all games across four channels.
Monday, March 18, 2013
TV coverage history of the NCAA Tournament (1969-present)
Last year, I compiled a 3-part historical summary of the TV coverage of the NCAA tournament from 1969 to the present. I recently made some updates and this week is an appropriate time to post the revised version.
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On the 1982-90 entry, they talked about the Selection Special being introduced.
ReplyDeleteI think that got it's start in the late-70's. On the 1978 UNLV-UK broadcast, the NBC announcers said that the tourney pairings would be announced at halftime the next day during the Mich-UCLA telecast.
Yes, NBC would quickly run through the pairings during halftime of the last regular season game starting in the late 1970s. However, the 1982 CBS Selection Show was the first time that a separate TV show existed for that purpose.
Deletei wonder how nbc was able switch games in the 70s and 80 since they were being fed via phone lines
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure they did much switching at all prior to 1981.
Deletei have seen a few examples on cbs during their 70s nba coverage
ReplyDeleteI swear I watched the 1966 historic title game on TV. But, all the research I've done says TV coverage didn't start until 1969.
ReplyDeleteThe 1966 title game was indeed televised. Many NCAA title games prior to 1969 (such as the 1966 contest) were syndicated on TV in several markets. I chose to start his series in 1969 as that was the first year of network TV coverage on NBC.
DeleteI watched NCAA championship games on TV as early at 1963 (Loyola-Cincy) and I know I saw the 1966 Texas Western game on TV (Bobby Jo Hill's steals) but they were all one-offs and I don't remember any systematic tourney coverage, which always frustrated me. But I lived in the NY Metro area so we had access to lots of stations. I believe I've seen the tourney final on TV ever since '63, except on a couple of occasions when I attended the event in 1981 and 1992.
DeleteJeff
ReplyDeleteIt looks like the 506 forum is no longer available. I remember reading through that part of your research like a kid opening presents on Christmas as I had started watching the tourney in 1968 because of Houston's run to the Final Four.
Is that painstaking research of yours available anywhere else?
The forum is still available, but the URL changed a few months ago. The new URL is https://506forums.com/
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