NCAA March Madness Live, managed by Turner Sports in partnership with CBS Sports and the NCAA, will offer enhanced virtual reality coverage of the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship including multiple ways for fans to enjoy an immersive viewing experience beginning with the Sweet 16 games in San Jose. The NCAA March Madness Live VR app with Intel True VR is sponsored by Intel, an NCAA Corporate Partner, and offers viewers a virtual courtside seat for fans to experience NCAA Tournament games through a VR premium ticket. The NCAA March Madness Live VR app is available for download now through the Oculus store for compatible mobile phones.
Virtual reality coverage, powered by Intel, will be available for Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games – the first time either rounds have been available in VR – originating from the West Region in San Jose, along with the NCAA Final Four National Semifinals and National Championship from Phoenix.
Fans will be able to choose from two VR premium ticket options:
- Gold – for $2.99 per game or $7.99 for all six games, fans will be able to feel like they are sitting courtside with their favorite team, via fully-produced VR coverage incorporating multiple courtside cameras, sounds from inside the arena and dedicated game commentary featuring Spero Dedes with analyst Steve Smith and reporter Lisa Byington. Dedes, Smith and Byington will call the game specifically from the perspective of fans watching the live coverage in VR.
- Silver – for $1.99 per game, fans can experience VR through a single courtside camera presentation (180-degree live stream) with the same commentary featured on the CBS broadcast with Jim Nantz, analysts Grant Hill and Bill Raftery, along with reporter Tracy Wolfson.
The NCAA March Madness Live VR App also provides access to the full tournament bracket with enhanced video highlights from each game, virtual stats, scoreboards and shot charts will be available for free to all users.
NCAA March Madness Live will also offer 360-degree highlights – from the games produced with Intel True VR – on the NCAA March Madness Facebook page.
This year marks the seventh year of the partnership between CBS Sports and Turner Sports to provide live coverage of all 67 games from the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship across four national television networks – TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV – with all games streamed on NCAA March Madness Live. CBS will broadcast the Final Four National Semifinal and Championship game this year, marking the 35th time the network has aired the title game. During CBS Sports and Turner Sports coverage of the Final Four and Final Championship games broadcast on CBS, Intel 360 replay technology will capture game highlights from every angle.
About Turner Sports
Turner Sports, a division of Turner, is an industry leader in the delivery of premium sports content across all multimedia screens. Turner Sports’ television coverage includes the NBA, Major League Baseball, NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, ELEAGUE and professional golf. The company also manages some of the most popular sports destinations across broadband and mobile platforms including Bleacher Report and its top-rated Team Stream app, NCAA.com and the critically acclaimed NCAA March Madness Live suite of products, PGA.com and the Sports Emmy Award-winning PGA Championship LIVE, as well as an accompanying collection of mobile sites and connected device apps. Turner Sports and the NBA also jointly manage NBA Digital, a robust collection of offerings including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA Mobile, the NBA App, NBADLEAGUE.com and WNBA.com.
About CBS Sports
CBS Sports, a year-round leader in television sports, broadcasts a portfolio of events on the CBS Television Network, including THE NFL ON CBS; “Thursday Night Football;” college basketball, including the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship; golf, including The Masters®, PGA Championship and PGA TOUR; college football, including the SEC ON CBS; and CBS SPORTS SPECTACULAR. In addition, the division includes CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports; produces INSIDE THE NFL for SHOWTIME; and partners with CBS SPORTS RADIO and CBSSports.com in creating recognized leaders in sports radio and digital.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships that support the NCAA and its student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola as official corporate champions and the following elite companies as official corporate partners: Allstate, Amazon Echo, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Enterprise, Infiniti, LG, Lowe’s, Marriott International, Nabisco, Northwestern Mutual, Pizza Hut, Reese’s, Unilever and Wendy’s.
