- Four Days Live Set Presence from Site of Final Four
- ESPN International Telecasts of Semifinals and National Championship
- ESPN Radio Saturday Programs in Indianapolis
- ESPNU Review and Preview Shows
ESPN’s extensive on-site coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Final Four will include multiplatform studio content from a set in the Pan American Plaza in downtown Indianapolis – located near the site of the semifinals and championship at Lucas Oil Stadium – and live game telecasts across ESPN’s International networks.
Live from Indy… SportsCenter, College GameDay and more
ESPN’s on-site presence from Indianapolis will include daily analysis, news, reports, and interviews across multiple platforms from Thursday, April 2, to Tuesday, April 7. Highlights:
- SportsCenter from Indianapolis: In addition to segments in every show, entire editions ofSportsCenter will originate from the set in Indianapolis’ Pan American Plaza on Friday, April 3, from 1 to 3 p.m. ET; Sunday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to noon; and Monday, April 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. ESPN will also provide extensive post-game coverage following the semifinals and championship.
- Game day GameDay shows: ESPN will offer two day-of-game editions of College GameDay Covered by State Farm for
the semifinals and championship: a two-and-a-half hour show on ESPN Saturday, April 4, at 3:30 p.m. previewing the National Semifinal matchups and a two-hour Championship preview on ESPN2 Monday, April 6, at 7 p.m. This season’s College GameDay began in Indianapolis at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Nov. 18, for the fourth annual State Farm Champions Classic. The neutral-site, early-season doubleheader matches four of the winningest programs against each other – Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State – with three of the teams participating in the upcoming Final Four. - Anchors, analysts and reporters: Rece Davis will serve as the lead host for SportsCenterand College GameDay segments from Indianapolis and be joined by ESPN basketball analysts Shane Battier, Jay Bilas, Jim Calhoun, Dan Dakich, Seth Greenberg, Dick Vitaleand Jay Williams. Additional anchors in Indianapolis to host SportsCenter coverage include John Anderson, Steve Levy, David Lloyd, Sara Walsh and Bram Weinstein. ESPN’sStephen A. Smith will contribute across platforms from Indianapolis while ESPN.comsenior writer Andy Katz and reporters Shannon Spake and Kaylee Hartung will provide news and updates from Indianapolis. Katz will also interview the head coaches of the teams in the championship game for SportsCenter on Sunday, April 5.
- Practices and press conferences: ESPN will also cover the final four team practices and press conferences from the venue on Friday, April 3.
- The Sports Reporters: ESPN’s Sunday studio show will air live from Indianapolis April 5 at 9:30 a.m.
- College GameDay content: Both College GameDay shows will showcase feature segments, including Gene Wojciechowski reporting on the impact legendary Villanovacoach Rollie Massimino still has in the lives of the players on his Wildcats team 30 years after he led them to the historic NCAA Championship. In addition, Indiana native Larry Bird will voice various elements connecting the Final Four with Indiana’s basketball history.
Final Four Games Around the World
ESPN International will televise the semifinals (Saturday, April 4, beginning at 6 p.m.) and championship (Monday, April 6) to fans in 179 countries and territories across 26 networks outside the United States. Dan Shulman will call all three games, pairing with analyst Jay Bilas on the second semifinal and Dick Vitale for the first semifinal and championship.
ESPN International networks will provide coverage in Latin America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America), Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, and via TSN and RDS in Canada. Additionally, worldwide, ESPN Syndication has completed deals to distribute the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship to local television clients reaching tens of millions of homes in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan and across Southeast Asia. ESPN broadband services around the world – under the ESPN Player, ESPN Play and ESPN3 brands – are also providing live and on-demand coverage of some, or all, of the tournament in more than 50 countries in the UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Australia.
ESPNU Monday Lineup
ESPNU will provide extensive coverage in advance of the title game on Monday, April 6, including as part of its Tournament Countdown programming, on Monday, April 6:
- The Experts show at 1 p.m. will include a panel of ESPN analysts reviewing the National Semifinals and previewing the National Championship.
- A special Tournament Countdown: Katz Korner at 4 p.m.
- Back-to-back 30-minute editions of Tournament Countdown: Road to the Championshipwill highlight the journey of the teams to the National Championship at 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
- A special Tournament Countdown: College Basketball Live from ESPN’s Charlotte studios will air at 5:30 p.m.
ESPN Radio in Indy
ESPN Radio’s weekend shows Dickerson & Hood (Saturday, 7 to 11 p.m.), hosted by Jeff Dickerson and Jonathan Hood, and Lupica (Sunday, 9 to 11 a.m.), hosted by Mike Lupica, will originate from Indianapolis.
– 30 –