Sears And CBS Team Up To Broadcast NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four And Championship Games In HDTV

February 27,2002

Sears, Roebuck and Co. and CBS Television announced an agreement in which Sears will sponsor high-definition television coverage of the 2002 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. This marks the third consecutive year that CBS has broadcast the Final Four in HDTV.In addition to the Final Four Championship game, coverage will be expanded to include first-round games at MCI Center in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 15 (four games) and Sunday, March 17 (two games) and regional action in Lexington, Kentucky, on Thursday, March 21 (two games) and Saturday, March 23 (one game). The first eight games will be regionalized broadcasts, while the Regional Final, National Semi-final games, and National Championship will be national games.The broadcasts, which will be presented live by CBS Sports, will be ""unified"" productions -- produced in HDTV's highest definition format, 1080i, and converted for the CBS Television Network's analog broadcast coverage. This production technique also produces a better quality analog picture. Whether watching in wide screen HD or traditional 4:3 analog, viewers will see the same camera angles, replays and graphics and will hear the same play-by-play. ""CBS Sports is pleased to team with Sears to expand our HDTV broadcasts of this year's NCAA Tournament,"" said Sean McManus, President, CBS Sports. ""By expanding our coverage for this, our third consecutive HDTV Final Four, CBS Sports' leadership in presenting our marquee events in high-definition continues to grow.""""While Sears is a leading retailer in the sales of HDTV, we are aware there is a good deal of confusion among consumers about HDTV, which ultimately turns to excitement once the consumer experiences HDTV and learns more about it at Sears,"" said Ray Brown, Vice President/General Merchandise Manager, Electronics for Sears. ""With this partnership with CBS, Sears is taking a leadership role to help educate millions of consumers about the benefits HDTV offers.""CBS Sports' coverage of the 2002 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and Championship games will be broadcast live Saturday, March 30 and Monday, April 1 from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Forty-six of CBS's owned and affiliated stations are currently broadcasting in digital, covering approximately 60 percent of the nation. By May 1, 2002, CBS expects to be transmitting digital programming across more than 75 owned and affiliated stations, reaching well over 68 percent of the country.