Harris Broadcast Steps to the Line for CBS Sports Final Four

Harris Corporation and CBS Sports have teamed to deliver the 2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four in high-definition television (HDTV) as, for the fourth consecutive year, Harris Broadcast has sponsored CBS Sports’ exclusive network HDTV broadcast of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, which began March 19 and concludes April 6 in Detroit.

As well as sponsoring all CBS Sports’ HD telecasts of games during this year’s NCAA basketball season, Harris has long been a key supplier of HD-enabling broadcast technology to the CBS Television Network. During this year’s tournament, the Harris NetVX video networking system is being used for signal backhaul from all the NCAA venues to the CBS Television Network in New York, and also for satellite distribution of the network programming to CBS affiliates nationwide. The Harris NetPlus 300 HD integrated receiver/decoder is used at each leg of the path to decode signals. Harris digital television transmitters and NetVX encoders deliver the final programming to many of the homes viewing CBS’ HD coverage of the event.

In addition to broadcasting all 63 games, from the first-round to the championship game, of the 2009 tournament in high definition, CBS Sports has been providing live coverage of this year’s event to viewers across multiple platforms. For the first time, NCAA March Madness On Demand (MMOD), CBS Sports’ free broadband service, has been streaming every tournament game in what CBS Sports is calling high-definition-quality video. In addition to network and cable television and broadband, CBS also is making live streams of the NCAA tournament available on some mobile devices.

“We are especially pleased to once again have Harris Corporation as our NCAA tournament HDTV broadcast sponsor, as we reaffirm CBS Sports’ leadership in HD sports broadcasting by making this year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship a true multiplatform experience for the viewers,” says Martin D. Franks, executive vice president, Planning, Policy and Government Relations, CBS Corporation.

“We are proud that CBS Sports is once again relying on Harris to support what is one of the most technically challenging sports broadcasting events of the year,” adds Howard L. Lance, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Harris Corporation. “The multiplatform aspect of this year’s event enables CBS to reach their viewers in new and innovative ways, and Harris is dedicated to supporting broadcasters as they explore and implement these emerging broadcast business models.”