Turner Sports and CBS Sports will once again feature a marquee lineup of announcers for their eighth year of combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. All 67 games from the 2018 NCAA Tournament will be televised across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – and via NCAA March Madness Live, beginning Tuesday, March 13, with the NCAA First Four on truTV presented by Northwestern Mutual.
This year’s NCAA Final Four National Semifinals on Saturday, March 31, and National Championship on Monday, April 2, from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, will be televised on TBS. Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and reporter Tracy Wolfson will call the Final Four National Semifinals and National Championship for the fourth consecutive year.
New commentator roles for this year’s coverage include:
- Ian Eagle calling games through the Regional Finals for the first time, pairing with Jim Spanarkel and Allie LaForce beginning with the First Four;
- Candace Parker serving as studio analyst in Atlanta from the First Four through the Sweet 16;
- Brad Nessler announcing games in Round 1 and 2;
- Lisa Byington joining Brian Anderson and Chris Webber through the Regional Finals;
- John Schriffen reporting on games in Round 1 and 2.
Ernie Johnson and Greg Gumbel will again host studio coverage from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City during the first full week of the tournament, joined by Charles Barkley, Clark Kellogg and Kenny Smith. Johnson will host studio coverage from Atlanta during the second week of tournament action on Thursday and Friday, while Gumbel will anchor coverage from CBS Studios. Studio coverage originating from Turner Studios in Atlanta, hosted by Casey Stern through Round 2, will feature Brendan Haywood, Seth Davis, Parker and college coaches. Wally Szczerbiak will contribute to studio coverage from New York City.
Following is the complete list of announcer pairings:
Play-by-Play / Analyst // Reporter
* Regional Weekend Announce Teams
Jim Nantz / Bill Raftery / Grant Hill // Tracy Wolfson*
Brian Anderson / Chris Webber // Lisa Byington*
Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Allie LaForce*
Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Dan Bonner // Dana Jacobson*
Brad Nessler / Steve Lavin // Evan Washburn
Spero Dedes / Steve Smith / Len Elmore // Ros Gold-Onwude
Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Jamie Erdahl
Carter Blackburn / Debbie Antonelli // John Schriffen
The tournament will tip off Tuesday, March 13, and Wednesday, March 14, with the NCAA First Four on truTV presented by Northwestern Mutual. Spero Dedes will call Tuesday’s games with analysts Steve Smith and Len Elmore, alongside reporter Ros Gold-Onwude. Eagle will handle play-by-play on Wednesday with analyst Jim Spanarkel and reporter Allie LaForce. Studio coverage for the First Four will originate from Atlanta with Stern and analysts Haywood, Davis and Parker.
Accompanying the live television presentation, NCAA March Madness Live will once again be the ultimate digital destination for direct access to all 67 games of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.
CBS will broadcast the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals, National Championship and Selection Show in 2019, with the events alternating between Turner and CBS each year throughout the partnership.