Storyline

Turner Sports and CBS Sports Announce 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Commentator Teams

Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson to Call
National Championship and Final Four National Semifinals on CBS,

5th Consecutive Year as Lead Broadcast Team

Jim Jackson Added as Game Analyst for First Four, Rounds 1 & 2

Rules Analyst Gene Steratore Joins 2019 March Madness Coverage

CBS Sports and Turner Sports will once again feature a marquee lineup of announcers for their ninth year of combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. All 67 games from the 2019 NCAA Tournament will be televised across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – and via NCAA March Madness Live, beginning Tuesday, March 19, with the NCAA First Four on truTV.

This year’s NCAA Final Four National Semifinals on Saturday, April 6, and National Championship on Monday, April 8, from Minneapolis, Minn. will be televised on CBS. Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and reporter Tracy Wolfson will call the Final Four National Semifinals and National Championship for the fifth consecutive year.

New commentator roles for this year’s coverage will include:

  • Jim Jackson calling games in Rounds 1 and 2 alongside Brad Nessler, Steve Lavin and Evan Washburn. Jackson will also team with Spero Dedes, Steve Smith and Ros Gold-Onwude for the First Four;

  • Rules Analyst Gene Steratore providing rules and officiating analysis in studio from the First Four through the Regional Finals and on-site at the Final Four in Minneapolis.

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 during the first week, will feature Brendan Haywood, Seth Davis, Candace Parker and college coaches. Wally Szczerbiak will contribute to studio coverage from New York City and Adam Zucker will provide game updates.

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 // Allie LaForce*

Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel // Jamie Erdahl*

Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Dan Bonner // Dana Jacobson*

Brad Nessler / Steve Lavin / Jim Jackson // Evan Washburn

Spero Dedes / Len Elmore / Steve Smith // Ros Gold-Onwude

Andrew Catalon / Steve Lappas // Lisa Byington

Carter Blackburn / Debbie Antonelli // John Schriffen

The tournament will tip off Tuesday, March 19, and Wednesday, March 20, with the NCAA First Four on truTV. Kevin Harlan will call Tuesday’s games with analysts Reggie Miller and Dan Bonner, alongside reporter Dana Jacobson. Spero Dedes will handle play-by-play on Wednesday with analysts Jackson and Steve Smith and reporter Ros Gold-Onwude. 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.

Turner will televise the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals and National Championship in 2020, with the events alternating between CBS and Turner each year throughout the partnership.

* * *

Media Contacts:

Randall Liu, CBS Sports

212-975-5936

randall.liu@cbs.com

Jay Moskowitz, Turner Sports

404-885-2469

 

jay.moskowitz@turner.com