March Madness Sans Fans Won’t Hurt TV Ratings, Broadcasters Say

(Bloomberg) -- CBS and Turner Sports say TV ratings for the college basketball tournament are unlikely to be hurt if the popular March Madness tips off in empty arenas because of coronavirus fears.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is exploring its options for the three-week event, by far the most important event on the organization’s annual calendar. While no changes have been made yet, the NCAA is weighing hosting games without fans or holding the event in fewer venues.

Executives for CBS Sports and WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports, which recently signed an $8.8 billion extension of their tournament media rights, said any decision rests with the NCAA. Should games happen without fans, viewership would likely be unaffected, according to Jeff Zucker, chairman of AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia News and Sports.

“That really is not something we’re really concerned about,” Zucker said on a conference call with reporters. “If it were to come to such a point, you would probably be in a situation where much of the country would be looking to watch the games, would be home, would be looking for that outlet and that relief.”

Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, which is owned by ViacomCBS Inc., echoed that thought. Viewership would be determined by “the quality of the match-up, the closeness of the games and the various storylines that always develop during the tournament.”

McManus also said there would be no major changes to the telecasts if the games had no fans. There would be no crowd shots and a different atmosphere, but “the production would remain the same,” he said.

Fully Staffed

Staffing for the productions would be the same, too, Zucker said, adding that Turner Sports would accommodate any employees uncomfortable working the coverage.

Last week, some early-round games in the Division III men’s basketball tournament were held without fans. On Monday, Santa Clara County in California banned public gatherings of more than 1,000, an edict that threatens professional hockey and soccer games scheduled for San Jose in the next few weeks. Those teams will need to cancel the games, move them or host them without fans.

More than 80% of the NCAA’s $1.1 billion in annual revenue comes from the basketball tournament. The vast majority of that is the organization’s broadcast deal with Turner and CBS, which was recently extended through 2032 and currently pays about $827 million a year.

McManus and Zucker declined to comment on whether their networks had insurance that might cover loss of business because of the virus. Donald Remy, the NCAA’s chief operating officer, said last week that the organization had business interruption insurance that it believed would cover some potential losses resulting from the outbreak.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eben Novy-Williams in New York at enovywilliam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum, John J. Edwards III

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