NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four: CBS Sports, TNT Sports Lean In on Super Slow-Motion Cameras, Expand Drone Flight Path as Four No. 1 Seeds Battle for Surpemacy More than 50 cameras fill the Alamodome to cover the action By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, April 4, 2025 - 3:41 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and National Championship Game are back in San Antonio and with all four No. 1 seeds in play - Duke, Houston, Florida, and Auburn - the Alamodome is set to host an unforgettable weekend of college basketball.
While millions of fans tune in to CBS for exclusive coverage, the production and operations teams from both CBS Sports and TNT Sports are orchestrating an immense operation to bring the action to life with state-of-the-art technology and an unmatched level of coordination.
CBS Sports and TNT Sports are ready to produce the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four this weekend at the Alamodome in Atlanta. (Photos Courtesy: Meredith Kolodney, CBS Sports)
Inside the Dome: A Camera Arsenal Like No Other The Alamodome will be blanketed with an array of more than 50 cameras to capture every dunk, steal, and buzzer-beater from every conceivable angle.
The exciting thing about this year's show is that we work together on this and take a lot of what we learned throughout the year on other sports properties, says Jason Cohen, SVP of Remote Technical Operations, CBS Sports. We blend that with what we've done at the [previous] Final Four, form a strategy based on what tech has evolved over the last 12 months, and maximize what this particular venue allows. That's led us to increase our super slow-motion capabilities this year.
A four-point SkyCam will fly inside the Alamodome, sharing airspace with a live drone from Beverly Hills Aerials.
Among the highlights of this production setup are a four-point SkyCam, a live drone from Beverly Hills Aerials, 20 super slow-motion cameras (12 cameras shooting in 6x SSMO and one positioned in a low slash angle capturing in 8x SDF), Antelope cameras embedded in base of each basket, two on-court cameras (Atlas and Steadicam will both shoot in shallow depth-of-field for cinematic shots), RailCam, and three 4K cameras mounted at the base of the centerhung videoboard (for unique top-down views).
Complementing the audio plan are thump mics installed in the floor, capturing on-court soundscapes to bring viewers closer to the action.
This is such a popular event, says Chris Brown, VP of Production Technology and Operations at Warner Bros. Discovery, and I think we've really gotten to a place where we're able to cover it the way something of this magnitude should be covered,
Pioneering Officiating Technology: The Push-to-Talk System One of the more innovative additions this year is a push-to-talk system for referee reviews, an integration that CBS Sports and TNT Sports developed in partnership with NEP.
CBS and TNT worked with NEP to create a push-to-talk referee review position that overcame technical challenges of playing on a raised court.
There was no out-of-the-box solution for refs to walk over and be able to look at a monitor and push a button to speak to the house and the TV truck, says Cohen. We developed a robotic arm where it oscillates up and spins towards the court. It's those bells and whistles that we add to the show that make it fun.
This solution streamlines the review process by allowing referees to communicate seamlessly with both the in-venue audience and television broadcast team while maintaining an optimal camera frame on the officials.
Enhancing Drone Coverage: A Growing Innovation Over the past two years, CBS Sports has refined its drone coverage in collaboration with CNN's drone division. Initially, drones were limited to vertical movements in a single stadium corner. Last year, flight paths expanded within the bowl. In 2025, the production is stepping up again by bringing in Beverly Hills Aerials to further enhance aerial cinematography.
You're going to see an expanded flight path this year, Cohen explains. There's a cadence that you have to develop between the drone and the SkyCam, of course, to make sure that they're in sync with what each other's responsibilities are and that they don't interfere with each other. We're excited to build upon the successes that we've had with the indoor drone. It's certainly the plan to keep on taking steps forward and build upon what we've done in the last couple of years.
A New Era in NCAA Production Leadership This year marks a major transition in the production leadership of CBS Sports' NCAA coverage. Veteran director Mark Grant and first-time Final Four producer Ken Mack step into roles previously held by industry legends Bob Fishman and Mark Wolff.
RailCam returns for another year at the Final Four.
Change is exciting, says Cohen. Anyone who has to replace Wolff and Fish has enormous shoes to fill, but I think that the production folks did a great job of finding the right people to carry on the torch. From an ops and engineering standpoint, we appreciate the collaborative relationship with production.
This new leadership team is embracing the latest technological advancements while maintaining the high standard set by their predecessors.
It's our job to give them as many tools for the toolbox as possible, Cohen continues. How they use it within the show is dictated by the flow of the game and what happens on the court. I think that with Ken and Mark Grant, we've got two very seasoned, experienced, highly capable individuals who are very open and receptive to trying new technologies and ideas. That's exciting for us and I think it's exciting for them.
The CBS game production team is also bo
Most recent headlines
04/04/2025
SBS announces initiatives to provide all Australians with trusted news and infor...
04/04/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites final-year animation students to submit character designs inspired by lead characters from any South Afric...
04/04/2025
Artist rendering of a Nuclear Thermal Propulsion vehicle concept at Mars....
04/04/2025
Special Operations Command (SOCOM)'s OA-1K Skyraider II is based on L3Harris...
04/04/2025
Warsaw, Poland - March 24, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has published its latest February All Screens Video Land...
04/04/2025
Open Broadcast Systems, a leader in software-based low-latency video encoding and decoding, has announced that Mobile TV Group has selected its encoders and dec...
04/04/2025
Amagi, a cloud-based SaaS technology solutions provider for broadcast and streaming TV providers, has announced the general availability of its latest generatio...
04/04/2025
Leading European tech developer Profuz Digital unveils the latest editions in its Profuz LAPIS media asset management system in time for the NAB Show which take...
04/04/2025
Cinedeck, pioneer in integrated delivery solutions for the media and entertainment industry, has launched the RX3, a compact, high-performance portable ingest s...
04/04/2025
Cinedeck, a pioneer in integrated delivery solutions for the media and entertainment industry, has announced the latest advancements to ConneX Hub, featuring a ...
04/04/2025
Global provider of video streaming software and services, Accedo, has announced that a new tool, Design Studio , has been added to its award-winning SaaS platfo...
04/04/2025
Disguise, the leading platform and solutions provider driving the next generation of visual experiences, has appointed Brian Allen as its Vice President of Crea...
04/04/2025
Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX), the leader in powering the modern connected world with people-centered security, today announced expanded collaboration with ...
04/04/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) announces the release of Version 2.0 software for the ADTH NextGen TV Box. The update delivers significantly improved user experience and int...
04/04/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform, has partnered with Mimir, a video collaboration and production platform for profe...
04/04/2025
Sequel, a trailblazer in next-generation streaming solutions, today announced that it has expanded its team, which includes co-founders Aksel van der Wal and Ru...
04/04/2025
Peakto now available as a plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro, expands compatibility w...
04/04/2025
In a move that could help attract more viewers to NextGen TV, Atlanta DTH (ADTH), a provider of NextGen TV external devices, has released Version 2.0 software f...
04/04/2025
In our latest article on a piece of broadcasting history, Vizrts Russell Leak tells TVBEurope how his Dad created the motor used in a BBC 1 ident from the 1980s...
04/04/2025
The agency aims to bridge gaps in product strategy, development, and go-to-market programmes for media tech companies around the world
By Matthew Corrigan
Pu...
04/04/2025
Carole Pigeard, SVP of global sales at Moments Lab tells TVBEurope how diverse perspectives fuel evolution in the media and entertainment space
By Matthew Corr...
04/04/2025
An interoperable Optical Ground Station will provide a long-distance Quantum Key Distribution link between Asia and Europe to scale next-generation cybersecurit...
04/04/2025
LAS VEGAS The National Association of Broadcasters, Sinclair Broadcast Group and UrsaNav have announced that they will demonstrate a complementary system that c...
04/04/2025
LOS GATOS, Calif. After greatly expanding its global production and offering programming from around the world, Netflix is also making the viewing experience mo...
04/04/2025
PARAMUS, NJ Sony Electronics has announced its agenda for the 2025 NAB Show, April 6-9 in Las Vegas. With its Central Hall home in the LVCC under construction, ...
04/04/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. RED Digital Cinema will be showcasing its latest innovations at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas, April ...
04/04/2025
LAS VEGAS As broadcasters gather for the 2025 NAB Show, Pearl TV has outlined some of the industry's success in advancing the spread of NextGen TV aka ATSC ...
04/04/2025
SANTA FE, N.M. New Mexico PBS (NMPBS) has turned to Heartland Video Systems (HVS) and its ATSC 3.0 team to optimize the public broadcaster's existing ATSC 3...
04/04/2025
Vizrt releases its first dedicated NDI audio connection solution, Viz Connect Au...
04/04/2025
Cinedeck Introduces Compact and Portable Ingest Unit, RX3
Brie Clayton April 3, 2025
0 Comments
Cinedeck, pioneer in integrated delivery solutions for...
04/04/2025
Boston Conservatory at Berklee to Present Beloved Works and World Premieres at S...
04/04/2025
Telstra Helps Australia's National Rugby League Take Over Vegas To Start 202...
04/04/2025
NAB 2025 Preview, South Hall: Everything You Need To Know as You Head Into the S...
04/04/2025
Sky will debut Mountainhead, an exclusive film written, directed, and executive ...
04/04/2025
Back to All News
Rotten Legacy, Starring Jose Coronado, Premieres on Netflix May 26
Entertainment
04 April 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Downl...
04/04/2025
Appointments Reinforce Commitment to Customer-Centric Growth and Innovation
MONTREAL, CANADA - April 4, 2025 - Grass Valley, the media and entertainment indust...
04/04/2025
May and June see RT Concert Orchestra performances in Dublin, Offaly, Carlow an...
04/04/2025
The Late Late Show will pay special tribute to the life and sporting career of M...
04/04/2025
UNMISSABLE GAA CHAMPIONSHIP ACTION FREE TO AIR ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS
The Sunday ...
03/04/2025
(L-R) Ji-young Yoo, Pedro Pascal, and Jay Ellis at the Freaky Tales premiere. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Stephanie...
03/04/2025
Spotify Advertising hit a new high note today as we unveiled how we're makin...
03/04/2025
The next stage of Spotify Advertising has arrived. Today, during our Spotify Advance event in New York City, we unveiled a host of updates that make it easier f...
03/04/2025
Some of the biggest names in marketing, advertising, publishing, traditional and social media, and the creative worlds gathered yesterday at Chelsea Factory in ...
03/04/2025
In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni highlights key points from the webinar on hyper-personalization held on March 20th 2025, hosted by XroadMedia and featuring in...
03/04/2025
MONTREAL Two long-time competitors in the TV production market have announced a collaboration that allows integration of two of its platforms....
03/04/2025
When the history of digital television in the United States is written, the individuals involved will read like a who's who of broadcast technology. Many of...
03/04/2025
With the broadcast industry facing a number of major regulatory issues this year, the NAB has announced that two FCC commissioners, Nathan Simington and Anna M....
NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four: CBS Sports, TNT Sports Lean In on Super Slow-Motion Cameras, Expand Drone Flight Path as Four No. 1 Seeds Battle for Surpemacy More than 50 cameras fill the Alamodome to cover the action By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
