You might not be a fan of the expanded 68-team format for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which tips off tonight with two of those 'play-in' games. You should, however, be a fan of the new four-network format that will allow you to see every game of March Madness in its entirety.
No longer will CBS choose one primary game to broadcast, then cut in an out of whatever other games are going on simultaneously. Instead, a new television deal involving CBS and Turner Sports will allow viewers to see all NCAA Tournament games in their entirety. Start times will be staggered and broadcast across four networks -- CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV -- yes, truTV.
Choose the game you want to watch and DVR the other ones, flip-back-and-forth yourself between games. Whatever you want to do. Start times will also be staggered, as you can see in the NCAA Tournament TV Schedule below, so that you don't have several games starting and ending at the same time.
All I can say to this development is 'hooray!' It is about time.
NCAA Tournament TV Schedule
Round 1
Tuesday
- 6:30 p.m.: No. 16 UNC-Asheville vs. No. 16 AR-Little Rock (truTV) -- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr, Tracy Wolfson
- 9 p.m.: (12) UAB vs. (12) Clemson (truTV) -- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Steve Kerr, Tracy Wolfson
Wednesday
- 6:30 p.m.: (16)Tx-San Antonio vs. (16) Alabama St. (truTV) -- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider
- 9 p.m.: (11) USC vs. (11) VCU (truTV) -- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider
Round 2
Thursday
- 12:15 p.m.: (12) TBA vs. (5) West Virginia (CBS) -- Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge
- 12:40 p.m.: (9) Old Dominion vs. (8) Butler (truTV) -- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson
- 1:40 p.m. (13) Morehead St. vs. (4) Louisville (TBS) -- Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser
- 2:10 p.m.: (10) Penn st. vs. (7) Temple (TNT) -- Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan
- 2:45 p.m.: (13) Princeton vs. (4) Kentucky (CBS) -- Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge
- 3:10 p.m.: (16) TBA vs. Pittsburgh (truTV) -- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson
- 4:10 p.m.: (12) Richmond vs. (5) Vanderbilt (TBS) -- Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser
- 4:40 p.m.: (15) N. Colorado vs. (2) San Diego St. (TNT) -- Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan
- 6:50 p.m.: (15) UC Santa Barbara vs. (2) Florida (TBS) -- Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge
- 7:15 p.m.: (14) Wofford vs. (3) BYU (CBS) -- Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser
- 7:20 p.m.: (14) Bucknell vs. (3) UConn (TNT) -- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson
- 7:27 p.m.: (13) Belmont vs. (4) Wisconsin (truTV) -- Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan
- 9:20 p.m.: (10) Michigan St. vs. (7) UCLA (TBS) -- Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, David Aldridge
- 9:45 p.m.: (11) Gonzaga vs. St. John's (CBS) -- Verne Lundquist, Bill Raftery, Lesley Visser
- 9:50 p.m.: (11) Mizzouri vs. (6) Cincinnati (TNT) -- Tim Brando, Mike Gminski, Lewis Johnson
- 9:57 p.m.: (12) Utah St. vs. Kansas St. (truTV) -- Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller, Dan Bonner, Sam Ryan
Friday
- 12:15 p.m.: (13) Oakland vs. (4) Texas (CBS) -- Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager
- 12:40 p.m.: (9) Tennessee vs. (9) Michigan (truTV) -- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson
- 1:40 p.m.: (15) Akron vs. (2) Notre Dame (TBS) -- Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio
- 2:10 p.m.: (9) Villanova vs. (8) George Mason (TNT) -- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider
- 2:45 p.m.: (12) Memphis vs. (5) Arizona (CBS) -- Marv Albert, Steve Kerr, Craig Sager
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3:10 p.m.: (16) Hampton vs. (1) Duke (truTV) -- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, Tracy Wolfson
- 4:10 p.m.: (10) Florida St. vs (7) Texas A&M (TBS) -- Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel, Jamie Maggio
- 4:40 p.m.: (16) TBA vs. (1) Ohio St. (TNT) -- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore, Marty Snider
- 6:50 p.m.: (16) Boston U. vs. (1) Kansas on TBS
- 7:15 p.m.: (15) Long Island vs. (2) North Carolina on CBS
- 7:20 p.m.: (14) St. Peter's vs. (3) Purdue on TNT
- 7:27 p.m.: (11) Marquette vs. (6) Xavier on truTV
- 9:20 p.m.: (9) Illinois vs. (8) UNLC on TBS
- 9:45 p.m.: (10) Georgia vs. (7) Washington on CBS
- 9:50 p.m.: (11) TBA vs. (6) Georgetown on TNT
- 9:57 p.m.: (14) Indiana St. vs. (3) Syracuse on truTV
-- If you have not done so already, be sure to get your printable NCAA bracket.