By Ryan

CBS will again have full coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, with live coverage on CBS and online at March Madness On Demand. The preliminary CBS TV schedule is below (first-round matchups to be announced March 14).

CBS SPORTS 2010 NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BROADCAST SCHEDULE

Thursday, March 18
Noon-5:00 PM - FIRST ROUND DOUBLEHEADER, Providence, R.I., New Orleans, La., Oklahoma City, Okla., San Jose, Calif., Regional
7:00 PM-12:00 AM - FIRST ROUND DOUBLEHEADER, (same sites as above listing), Regional

Friday, March 19
Noon-5:00 PM - FIRST ROUND DOUBLEHEADER, Jacksonville, Fla., Buffalo, N.Y., Milwaukee, Wisc. & Spokane, Wash., Regional
7:00 PM-12:00 AM - FIRST ROUND DOUBLEHEADER, (same sites as above listing), Regional

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Categories: Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Basketball, CBS, CBS March Madness On Demand, College Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Sports, TV News & Program Updates

By Ryan

CBS announced its plans for Sunday’s NCAA Tournament Selection Sunday special, airing March 14 at 6pm ET on CBS. Here’s the full press release from CBS:

CBS SPORTS TOGETHER WITH CBS COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK BREAK DOWN THE BRACKETS WITH THREE HOURS OF NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SELECTION SHOW COVERAGE

CBS Sports Broadcasts Exclusive, Live, First-time Announcement of  2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Field of 65 on Sunday, March 14

CBS College Sports Network Offers Two-Hours of In-Depth Analysis of Field of 65 Following CBS Sports’ Live Bracket Reveal

CBSSports.com Streams CBS Sports’ Selection Show Live

CBS Sports, together with CBS College Sports Network, offers college basketball fans the most comprehensive coverage of Selection Sunday with the exclusive, live, first-time announcement and three hours of in-depth coverage of the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship field of 65.

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Categories: Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Basketball, CBS, College Basketball, Final Four, NCAA Tournament, Sports, TV News & Program Updates

By Ryan

Hard to believe, but NCAA Tournament time starts again, with the announcement of the tournament field on Sunday, March 14, and the first round beginning on Thursday, March 18. CBS will again cover the tournament, with Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg its top announcing team. More details from CBS:

CBS SPORTS’ EXCLUSIVE NETWORK COVERAGE OF THE 2010 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TIPS-OFF WITH FIRST-ROUND ACTION ON THURSDAY, MARCH 18

COVERAGE CULMINATES WITH NETWORK’S BROADCAST OF  FINAL FOUR® AND CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FOR 29th CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Spero Dedes Added to CBS Sports’ Announcer Line-up

Tournament Schedule and Broadcast Pairings Announced

“March Madness®” returns to the CBS Television Network when CBS

Sports broadcasts the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship for the 29th consecutive year.  Exclusive live, network coverage begins on Thursday, March 18 and concludes on Monday, April 5 with the National Championship game from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR, the Network’s studio show, tips off CBS Sport’s coverage of first- round games on Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19 (12:00 Noon-5:00 PM, ET and 7:00 PM-12:00 AM, ET, both days/nights) and is hosted by Greg Gumbel, Greg Anthony and Seth Davis from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Lesley Visser, Tracy Wolfson and Sam Ryan serve as reporters for THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR throughout CBS Sports’ coverage of the tournament.
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Categories: Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: Basketball, CBS, College Basketball, Final Four, NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Sports, TV News & Program Updates

Photo: Dan Littlejohn/CBS ©2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

By Stacey Harrison

Last night’s post-Super Bowl airing of Undercover Boss pulled in over 38 million viewers, the best for that time slot since 2001.

Incidentally (or not) it was another reality offering — the premiere of the second season of Survivor — that was the last to pull in those kinds of ratings. But instead of cutthroat gamesmanship, Undercover Boss offered an uplifting vision of nameless, faceless corporate bigwigs finally developing empathy for their underlings. Waste Management President and COO Larry O’Donnell posed as a regular employee in his own company, going from task to task, in order to see how the policies he had a part in creating were handled in practice.

O’Donnell seems a genuine guy, far from the fat cat stereotype associated with high-level corporate execs, and has a compelling personal story involving a special-needs daughter that make him an easily empathetic figure. But even he was shocked by the difference between his insulated view of how the company functioned compared with what he saw in the field — including female route drivers not being provided a place to use the restroom while striving to make company-mandated goals; employees being threatened with their pay being docked for clocking in late after lunch; and deep personnel cuts leading to overworked, underpaid employees. It all led to one contrite executive how sought to make things right by episode’s end.

So beyond being thrilled about getting a better understanding of his company, and the stratospheric-level of publicity generated by the show, what did O’Donnell think of the show? I caught up with him at the annual press tour in Pasadena recently, and while he said the experience was overwhelmingly positive, reality TV is never all that it seems.

Did the show accurately portray your experience?

Larry O’Donnell: “There were certainly a couple of things — the whole thing on the time clock really bothered me. [Read more →]

Categories: Reality TV by sharrison76
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Tags: CBS, Larry O'Donnell, Stacey Harrison, Super Bowl XLIV, Undercover Boss, Waste Management

By Ryan

CBS has announced its coverage plans for Super Bowl XLIV from South Florida, including all of its pregame coverage: the Road to the Super Bowl special, the Phil Simms All-Iron Team presentation and The Super Bowl Today show. Also included are details on the premiere of Undercover Boss, airing after the game. From CBS:

CBS SPORTS TO BROADCAST SUPER BOWL XLIV LIVE ON FEBRUARY 7

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms Call Super Bowl XLIV

CBS News’ Katie Couric to Contribute to THE SUPER BOWL TODAY

PHIL SIMMS ALL-IRON TEAM: SUPER BOWL EDITION Highlights All-Time Super Bowl Team by Traveling from Hawaii to Ireland

CBS’s New Reality Series, UNDERCOVER BOSS, Premieres Following Super Bowl XLIV

CBS Sports culminates its coverage of the 2009-10 NFL season with SUPER BOWL XLIV on Sunday, Feb. 7 (6:28 PM, ET kick-off) from Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Fla., live on the CBS Television Network. CBS Sports last broadcast the Super Bowl in 2007 when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears, 29-17. Super Bowl XLIV will be the Network’s 17th Super Bowl broadcast overall.

CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz and Phil Simms call the action, marking the second time in his illustrious 25-year CBS Sports broadcasting career that Nantz calls play-by-play for the Super Bowl. Nantz called his first Super Bowl in 2007 and hosted the Network’s Super Bowl pre-game show, THE SUPER BOWL TODAY, in 2001 and 2004. Simms provides analysis for his sixth Super Bowl, the fourth for CBS Sports.  Nantz and Simms are joined on the broadcast by NFL ON CBS analysts Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots serving as sideline reporters. Super Bowl XLIV is produced by Lance Barrow, Coordinating Producer, THE NFL ON CBS, and directed by Mike Arnold.

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Categories: Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: CBS, Football, NFL, Sports, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIV, TV News & Program Updates

By Ryan

CBS announced it will air the annual Road to the Super Bowl special as part of its Super Bowl XLIV pregame shows Feb. 7 at 12pm ET. From CBS:

NFL FILMS’ “ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL”
DEBUTS ON CBS AT 12:00 NOON ET ON SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

40TH Anniversary of Most-Honored Annual Sports Special

One-Hour Special Culled From 1.7 Million Feet of Game Film &
400 Hours of Game Audio from 133 Coaches & Players

How did the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts advance to Super Bowl XLIV in South Florida?  Re-live the journey as only NFL Films can present it on “Road to the Super Bowl” on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7 at 12pm ET on CBS.

“Road to the Super Bowl” begins with Kickoff Weekend and chronicles the 2009 NFL season utilizing NFL Films’ signature captivating video and sound from on the field and in the locker room from exclusive player and coach wirings.
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Categories: Sports, TV News & Program Updates by Cubicle QB
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Tags: CBS, Football, NFL, Sports, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIV, TV News & Program Updates

scene from "Earth Song"

Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Carrie Underwood and Usher will join together, accompanied by the voice of Michael Jackson, to offer a moving tribute to the King of Pop during the Grammy Award telecast, Jan. 31 on CBS. The tribute will feature the never-before-seen 3-D mini-movie for “Earth Song” that was created by Jackson as the centerpiece of his “This Is It” tour. The 3-D film was created to support the performance of “Earth Song,” an original composition and a No. 1 hit for Jackson. The song has a strong theme about the future of the planet, and Jackson saw it as a unique opportunity to deliver a message to millions of people who would have seen him on tour. [Read more →]

Categories: Music, TV News & Program Updates by RabbitEars
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Tags: 3-D, Carrie Underwood, CBS, Celine Dion, Earth Song, Grammy Awards, Grammys, Jennifer Hudson, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson tribute, Smokey Robinson, Target, This Is It, Usher

CBS has finally announced the premiere date for the latest — and long-awaited — medical drama from uberproducer Jerry Bruckheimier.

Miami Medical will debut Friday, April 2 at 10pm (taking the time slot of NUMB3RS, which will have completed its season). The hourlong drama, about an irreverant team of expert surgeons who thrive on the adrenaline rush of working at one of the premiere trauma facilities in the country, stars Jeremy Northam, Lana Parrilla, Mike Vogel, Elisabeth Harnois and Omar Gooding.

Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS ©2009 CBS

Categories: TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: CBS, Jeremy Northam, Jerry Bruckheimer, Lana Parrilla, Miami Medical, Mike Vogel, Omar Gooding

Twenty former castaways will return to compete on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, when the 20th installment of the Emmy Award-winning series premieres with a special two-hour episode, Thursday, Feb. 11 at 8pm ET on the CBS Television Network.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains will reunite some of the most memorable, heroic and controversial castaways from previous Survivor seasons. The series’ best strategists will face off in their attempt to overcome — or embrace — the label placed upon them when they return to seek revenge or redemption, all in an effort to win the title of Sole Survivor.

These unforgettable castaways will compete deep in the South Pacific on the breathtaking island of Samoa and will be divided into two tribes of 10 comprised of the best HEROES and biggest VILLAINS ever to play the game. The HEROES have been defined by their decisions of integrity, courage and honor, while the VILLAINS have mastered their skills of deception, manipulation and duplicity.

The series will follow the relationships and conflicts that develop among the two divergent groups.Ultimately some castaways will be forced to choose between pre-existing relationships or tribe loyalty in the spirit of competition. What happens on a tribe full of HEROES? Will the VILLAINS self-destruct or will they be able to co-exist?

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Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: Amanda Kimmel, Benjamin Wade, Candice Woodcock, CBS, Cirie Fields, Coach, Colby Donaldson, Courtney Yates, Danielle DiLorenzo, J.T., James Clement, James Thomas Jr., Jerri Manthey, Jessica Kiper, Parvati Shallow, Randy Bailey, Rob Mariano, Rupert Boneham, Russell Hantz, Sandra Diaz Twine, Stephanie LaGrossa, Sugar Kiper, Survivor, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Tom Westman, Tyson Apostol

… Undercover Boss.

The long-awaited CBS reality series follows high-level chief executives as they leave the comfort of their corner offices and slip anonymously into the rank and file of their companies. While working alongside their employees, they will see the effects their decisions have on others, discover trouble spots within their organizations and discover the unsung heroes who make their companies run.

Following its post Super Bowl debut, the series moves to its regular time period Sundays at 9pm as part of a new two-hour reality block with The Amazing Race.

Photo: Jeff Neira/CBS

Categories: Reality TV, TV News & Program Updates by buttonknows
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Tags: CBS, Super Bowl XLIV, The Amazing Race, Undercover Boss