March ad-ness has begun, but CBS Sports and TNT Sports aren’t showing their full playbooks yet.
Today, during a press conference on the upcoming 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, CBS Sports and TNT Sports executives discussed the tournament’s ad sales, saying demand was high and that live sports continue to make an impression on viewers.
However, though David Berson, president and CEO, CBS Sports, said there’s “tremendous demand,” he added that they were “not going to give too much specificity.”
“Sports are more and more valuable every single day. Big events like March Madness continue to cut through,” Berson said. “They help drive revenue for these events, as well as the larger portfolios that we and TNT Sports have.”
Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO, TNT Sports, added that the companies were in “a really good place” and CBS Sports and TNT Sports are confident in the “strength of the sales efforts.”
During the call, Berson said linear TV is where the majority of fans watch the games, but he noted that the 2026 NCAA Men’s Tournament is also a multiplatform sale, including linear TV, streaming, and social.
“We’re touching fans with this in all kinds of ways, and it becomes a real good opportunity for advertisers to connect with fans however they want to consume the games and content,” Berson said.
The executives didn’t share insights into which brand categories were up or down in the college basketball event during the press conference. In addition, CBS Sports and TNT Sports did not immediately say whether more details on ad sales for the 2026 Men’s Tournament were forthcoming.
Around this time last year, CBS Sports and TNT Sports executives got into a lot more specifics about the ad sales for the 2025 Men’s Tournament. At the time, executives announced that the 2025 Men’s Tournament was “virtually sold out,” with more than 50% of all ad inventory going to the NCAA’s Corporate Champions, which included AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Capital One, and 15 corporate partners ranging from Buffalo Wild Wings to Unilever.
Regarding the 2026 broadcasts, CBS Sports and TNT Sports will provide live coverage of all 67 games across four networks, TBS, CBS, TNT, and truTV, with all games streamed on NCAA March Madness Live. Meanwhile, live games from TBS, TNT, and truTV will stream on HBO Max, and live games on the CBS Television Network will stream on Paramount+.
Coverage for the tournament begins with the Selection Show on Sunday, March 15, at 6 p.m. ET on CBS.
