National Sports Journalism Center

"Last October, Sean McManus looked at the numbers and shook his head," John Ourand and Michael Smith write, adding, "Even if CBS sold a record amount of advertising, there was no way the network could show a profit from the last three years of its NCAA men’s basketball tournament deal, which required a total of $2.13 billion in rights fees. McManus, the president of CBS News and CBS Sports, knew that the NCAA would likely opt out of those final three years, which it eventually did. And he knew that others with deeper pockets would show interest, namely ESPN. But McManus placed great importance on keeping an event that had a 29-year association with CBS. The network’s identity is defined by its long-term relationships with sports properties. It has had associations with the NFL and the Masters that go back more than 50 years and with broadcast tennis and college sports more than 40. CBS has broadcast the NCAA tournament since the early 1980s and didn’t want to lose it." Ourand and Smith quote McManus saying, "That’s when we started talking to Turner."