The Final Four is in Atlanta this year with CBS presenting the action from the Georgia Dome. Next year, the culmination of March Madness will occur in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas and TBS may be providing the coverage.
According to Sports Business Daily, CBS Sports and Turner Sports are in talks to push up TBS's presentation of the Final Four to 2014, which under terms of their $10.8 billion, 14-year deal was scheduled to begin in 2016.
The programmers issued the following statement: "As part of the original 14-year deal, there was a provisional option for rotation of the Final Four and National Championship to begin in 2014. There is currently no time timetable for a decision."
Officials were not immediately available for further comment.
Under the pact that went into effect with the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, CBS was scheduled to present all of the Elite Eight regional final contests, the Final Four and the National Championship Game through 2015. With the 2016 tourney, TBS was slated to begin televising half of the Elite Eight action, as well as Final Four and title tilt. TBS and CBS were then set to alternate the Final Four and National Championship Game package through the end of the contract in 2024.
