March Madness Marks a New Era at CBS Sports as David Berson Oversees First Tourney as President/CEO, Ken Mack Takes Top Producer’s Chair

It’s the 14th NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for CBS Sports/TNT Sports partnership

It’s one of the great sports days of the year: the first day of the First Round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

This year, it marks the 14th time that CBS Sports and TNT Sports have collaborated on producing and distributing every game of the tourney — including the First Four, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

CBS leads the way this year, carrying the Final Four and Championship Game on its air. All in all, CBS — in its 43rd year broadcasting the tournament — will televise 24 games, including Elite 8 and Sweet 16 games. TBS will televise 18, including Elite 8 and Sweet 16 games. truTV will air or simulcast 21 games, and TNT rounds out the lineup with 12 games in the opening few days.

“This truly is a one of the most iconic few weeks of the annual sports calendar,” says CBS Sports President/CEO David Berson. “It captivates the country for a few weeks, and we can’t wait to get it started.”

David Berson became president and CEO of CBS Sports in April 2024.

The tourney marks a milestone for Berson, who took the mantle as head of CBS Sports last April when Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer Sean McManus officially retired following last year’s Championship Game and The Masters golf tournament.

Berson joined CBS Sports as EVP of CBS Sports and president of CBS Sports Network in January 2011, which means that he was at McManus’s side essentially from the beginning of CBS Sports and then–Turner Sports’ unique March Madness partnership.

“[The transition] has been really, really seamless,” Berson acknowledged on a media call. “I give a tremendous amount of credit to Sean. He and I worked side by side, truly, for well over a decade. Every meeting, every trip, every meal, every negotiation — we were together. We’re still in touch regularly. We’re great friends. I give him a ton of credit for getting me prepared, but a ton of credit goes to our team. We’ve got an incredible team that cares so much about quality and likes working together.”

Says TNT Sports Chairman/CEO Luis Silberwasser, “[David] has been an instrumental part of the TNT Sports and CBS partnership for many, many years. David is a great friend to me. He’s a great partner, and we have an incredibly strong foundation to build on together.”

Veteran CBS Sports producer Ken Mack takes over as lead producer on this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Another key change behind the scenes occurs this year as 34-year CBS Sports veteran Ken Mack takes over as lead producer of the event. This follows last year’s retirement of Mark Wolff, who had occupied the lead chair since 2011 and had been a producer for various CBS Sports properties since 1984.

Mack has a wealth of experience in this event, having served as a producer on NCAA tourney games for many years. In fact, he was lead producer on the very first First Four game, when the concept was introduced to the tournament in 2011. The year prior, he was the producer on CBS Sports’ first 3D broadcast of the Final Four and Championship Game.

“Ken’s a very seasoned producer who has been with us for several decades,” says Berson. “He has been working on the tournament for a very long time. It’s another example of our seamless succession planning. [Lead Director] Mark Grant took over for [Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer] Bob Fishman just two years ago. [We are] really, really proud of this team.”

Outside of college hoops, Mack has served as a producer on seven Super Bowls and has been in the producer’s chair for the Nickelodeon NFL telecasts.