March Madness Gets Real Today; NEP, Game Creek, F&F Trucks Are Front and Center for 20-Camera Productions
CBS Sports, TNT Sports have deployed production teams across the country
Story Highlights
Exclusive coverage of the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship by CBS Sports and TNT Sports officially began this week with the NCAA First Four on truTV, but, with first-round coverage beginning at 12:15 p.m. ET today, the operation shifts into high gear.
At the center of the efforts will be production crews comprising both CBS and TNT staffers at eight venues literally spanning the country. To produce the huge number of games this weekend, a mix of IP and baseband trucks will be deployed, and all games will be produced in 1080i SDR.
Each site for the first and second rounds will have approximately 20 cameras, including four super-slo-mo cams, Above the Rim robos, and Slam Cams. For the Regionals in Week 2, additional cameras will be deployed at each venue: notably, a hard camera (often used for reverse coverage) and a wireless RF shallow–depth-of-field Steadicam.
CBS Sports and TNT have shared some details about which trucks will be used where:
Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC: F&F GTX19
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh: NEP Supershooter 4
CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE: Game Creek Celtic
Delta Center, Salt Lake City: F&F GTX20
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY: Game Creek Encore
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis: Game Creek Columbia
FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN: NEP Supershooter 5
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Spokane, WA: NEP Supershooter 8
The Sweet 16 round starts March 28. Elite Eight games start March 30 and will be played at TD Garden in Boston (East Region), American Airlines Center in Dallas (South Region), Little Caesars Arena in Detroit (Midwest Region), and Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles (West Region). The Final Four and Championship game will be hosted by State Farm Arena in Phoenix on April 6 and April 8. TNT will air the games during the final weekend.
SVG will be reporting live from the Final Four beginning April 5 so stay tuned for more coverage.
