This just in from CBS/Turner, we have the announcing teams for the NCAA Tournament. With Gus Johnson at Fox, Kevin Harlan is promoted to a regional final team and he’ll join Len Elmore and his NBA on TNT partner, Reggie Miller.
Brian Anderson who TBS tapped to call the MLB Postseason last year and has called basketball on the Big Ten Network this season, will join the CBS/Turner crew and be paired with NCAA Tournament veteran Dan Bonner.
Other than those two moves, there is stability in the CBS/Turner crews. And the sideline reporters stay mostly the same except for Otis Livingston from CBS’ New York affiliate replaces Sam Ryan who’s now at MLB Network.
Here’s the official CBS/Turner announcement.
Turner Sports and CBS Sports Announce All-Star Line-up of Broadcast Teams for Coverage of 2012 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball ChampionshipCBS Sports and Turner Sports today announced their lineup of broadcast teams for the second year of combined coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. Once again, Turner Sports and CBS Sports will provide live, full national coverage of the tournament’s 67 games across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – as well as across multiple platforms including NCAA March Madness Live.
The tournament tips-off on Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday, March 14 with the NCAA FIRST FOUR® on truTV. Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr will be courtside calling the action from Dayton, Ohio on March 13, with Tracy Wolfson reporting. Last year, tournament darling VCU advanced from the inaugural FIRST FOUR® to the NCAA Final Four®. The quartet will team up again when the tournament concludes on CBS Sports with the Final Four® and National Championship game live fromNew Orleans,La. on Saturday, March 31, and Monday, April 2. This marks the second consecutive year Nantz, Kellogg, Kerr and Wolfson will team-up to work the Final Four® and National Championship.
Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, along with courtside reporter Lewis Johnson, handle the call for the FIRST FOUR games on Wednesday, March 14.
Following are the announcer pairings for the second and third rounds (Thursday, March 15-Sunday, March 18):
Play-By-Play/Analyst
*Regional Announce TeamsJim Nantz/Clark Kellogg*
Marv Albert/Steve Kerr*
Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery*
Kevin Harlan/Len Elmore/Reggie Miller*
Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel
Brian Anderson/Dan Bonner
Tim Brando/Mike Gminski
Spero Dedes/Bob WenzelTracy Wolfson, Craig Sager, Lesley Visser, Marty Snider, Lewis Johnson, Jaime Maggio and Otis Livingston will serve as courtside reporters throughout the tournament.
Studio Coverage
For the second consecutive year, CBS Sports and Turner Sports will utilize two studios, based in New Yorkand Atlanta, to cover all the tournament action. Studio coverage will again be anchored by Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson with Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Kenny Smith providing analysis throughout the tournament from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. Matt Winer anchors the coverage from Turner Broadcasting’s Atlanta studio and will be joined by Seth Davis and Steve Smith.
During the Regional semi-finals and finals, Gumbel will remain in theNew Yorkstudio alongside Barkley, Anthony and Kenny Smith, while Johnson will shift to theAtlantastudios to join Davis and Steve Smith.
Studio coverage for the FIRST FOUR® originates fromAtlantaand will feature Johnson, Barkley, Anthony, Davis and Kenny Smith on Tuesday with Winer, Davis and Steve Smith providing analysis on Wednesday.
In the first year of its 14-year partnership, Turner Sports’ and CBS Sports’ exclusive live coverage of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship was the most-watched tournament since 2005, averaging 10.2 million total viewers. In 2011, more than 176 million people tuned into the tournament.
And there you have it.
