College basketball suits are once again talking about expanding the men’s NCAA tournament.
As the leader of one of the two media partners for men’s March Madness, TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser will be in the room where these negotiations occur. And he is saying exactly what most fans are likely thinking about: the possibility of the tourney growing beyond 68 games.
In an appearance on The Varsity podcast with Puck’s John Ourand over the weekend, Silberwasser said TNT supported expansion but wants the NCAA to be “thoughtful” rather than chasing money or attention “at the detriment of quality.”
“I think it is something that is in their court right now, and trying to figure out, what does expansion really mean?” Silberwasser said. “In terms of, number of extra teams, extra games, when would those games happen, how are they selected, what are the economics behind that expansion, what are the interests of not only the NCAA but also the conferences that make up the NCAA? I think there’s a lot of details to be worked out, but in principle, we support expansion.”
Silberwasser highlighted that TNT was a supportive partner of the “First Four” concept when the tourney went from 64 to 68 teams in 2011. Those games happen in the week leading up to the tournament, during primetime on TNT cable networks.
It’s easy to see why TNT liked that model. But stretching the tournament across more weeks for games that likely would be blowouts may not be as worthwhile.
“You have to also be thoughtful about when is expansion maybe either too much or just doing it for the sake of expanding and monetary reasons, at the detriment of the quality of the tournament or the quality of the teams that end up being (in the tournament),” Silberwasser said. “Finding that balance for expansion is going to be key for the NCAA to craft.”
TNT and CBS will partner to broadcast the men’s NCAA tournament through 2032 on a deal reportedly worth just over a billion annually, with TNT paying an estimated 70 percent of the deal.
That means the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network will have a big say over the structure of the tournament. And Silberwasser notably did not just fall in line with the NCAA’s wishes, instead going on the record on potential issues with expansion early in the process.
