Extensive 2008 Men’s Final Four Coverage Across ESPN Entities

April 1, 2008 -- ESPN’s extensive multimedia coverage of the NCAA Men’s Final Four will include in-depth analysis, news, interviews and highlights across many ESPN platforms as well as live telecasts of all three Final Four matchups on ESPN International. Coverage will feature on-site shows and reports on ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPNU and ESPN.com, and Tournament specific content on ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile TV.

Highlights:
- On-site Analysis from Bob Knight;
- Semifinals and Championship Game Live on ESPN International;
- On-Site Coverage on SportsCenter, College GameDay, ESPNEWS, ESPN Radio, ESPNU and ESPN.com; Content on ESPN Classic and ESPN Mobile TV

On-site programming from the Riverwalk at the RiverCity Mall in San Antonio will begin Friday, April 4 with SportsCenter at the Final Four and ESPNEWS segments. Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight will continue to provide analysis for ESPN through the Final Four, joining veteran ESPN analysts Dick Vitale, Digger Phelps and Jay Bilas in San Antonio.

Coverage highlights:
• ESPN: Daily on-site SportsCenter reports Friday, April 4 to Monday, April 7; two episodes of College GameDay, including a 90-minute pre-Championship show at 7:30 p.m. ET; and analysis between National Semifinal games and halftime of the Championship.
• ESPNEWS: Daily segments from on-site reporters and coverage of news conferences.
• ESPN Radio: On-site shows Friday, Saturday and Monday as well as Final Four news, analysis and interviews.
• ESPN International: Live telecasts of all three Final Four matchups to 158 countries and territories.
• ESPNU: In-depth analysis and on-site reports during SportsCenterU, coverage of press conferences and two blocks of programming featuring replays of regular-season games involving teams in the Championship game.
• ESPN.com: Commentary and analysis, live chats, SportsNation polls, and on-site coverage from ESPN.com reporters.
• ESPN Classic: An eight-hour marathon of memorable NCAA Tournament semifinal games Saturday, April 5.
• ESPN Mobile TV: News, columns, video analysis and features from ESPN.com columnists.

SportsCenter at the Final Four
SportsCenter at the Final Four will originate from the Riverwalk at the RiverCity Mall in San Antonio Friday, April 4 to Monday, April 7. Rece Davis and John Anderson will share hosting duties with Knight, Vitale, Phelps, Bilas, Hubert Davis, Doug Gottlieb and Steve Lavin providing analysis. ESPN.com senior writer Andy Katz and reporter Shelley Smith will cover breaking news and updates from the Final Four.

In addition, ESPN will provide analysis between semifinal games Saturday, April 5 and halftime of the Championship Monday, April 7.

Two College GameDay Programs
ESPN will televise two editions of College GameDay: a one-hour episode Saturday, April 5 at noon previewing the National Semifinal matchups and a 90-minute Championship preview Monday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m. Both programs will originate from the SportsCenter at the Final Four set and feature Rece Davis and analysts Knight, Phelps, Vitale, Bilas, Hubert Davis, Lavin and Gottlieb.

SportsCenter at the Final Four – Post-Championship Edition
Immediately following the National Championship game Monday, SportsCenter will provide extensive, live coverage with post-game analysis, press conferences and one-on-one interviews.

ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio will offer on-site coverage April 4, 5 and 7 from the Riverwalk at the RiverCity Mall, providing news, analysis and interviews with players and coaches involved with the Final Four. The NCAA Championship RoundTable, a special one-hour championship preview program, Monday, April 7, at 3 p.m. will be hosted by Erik Kuselias with analysts Gottlieb, Tom Brennan and Bob Valvano. Additional on-site programs include a Final Four preview show, and pre- and post-game semifinal and championship shows.

Date Time (ET) Show
Fri., April 4 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Final Four Preview
Sat., April 5 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. Final Four Pre-Game
After Game until 1 a.m. Final Four Post-Game
Mon., April 7 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. NCAA Championship RoundTable
7 p.m. - 9 p.m. College Basketball Championship Pre-Game
After Game until 1 a.m. College Basketball Championship Post-Game

ESPNEWS
ESPNEWS will offer in-depth analysis and previews of the teams and matchups beginning Friday, April 4. Coverage will be highlighted by daily on-site reports from host Anderson with analysts Vitale, Phelps, Hubert Davis, Bilas, Lavin and Gottlieb, and reporters Katz and Smith, live Final Four team news conferences and practice sessions Friday, and post-game news conferences Saturday and Monday.

On Sunday, March 30, ESPNEWS HD debuted, along with an entire new look, set, graphics and music for the network. For downloadable images of the new ESPNEWS set, the enhanced ESPNEWS “BottomLine” and the new “HD Sideline” graphic (the three-sided HD version of the “Bottomline”), please click here.

ESPN International
ESPN International will televise the National Semifinals and Championship live to 158 countries and territories, including ESPN Latin America, ESPN Caribbean, ESPN Brazil, ESPN Australia, ESPN New Zealand, ESPN Africa, ESPN Middle East, ESPN Israel and NASN (North American Sports Network in Europe). More than 36.6 million households will receive coverage.

ESPN International covered approximately 180 regular season Men's NCAA Basketball games on NASN, ESPN Africa, Orbit ESPN, ESPN Pacific Rim, ESPN Dos, ESPN Brazil, ESPN Caribbean and our ESS Networks.

ESPNU
ESPNU will provide analysis, on-site reports and pre- and post-game press conferences on SportsCenterU, and two Cram Sessions.

• SportsCenterU will feature interviews, updates, pre- and post-game analysis and live reports from Katz in San Antonio Saturday, April 5 (8 p.m. - 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. - midnight) following each semifinal and Monday, April 7 (6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m.) pre- and post-National Championship.
• ESPNU’s two Cram Sessions will feature encore presentations of regular-season games involving the teams in the Championship game (2008 Men’s Basketball Cram Session Monday, April 7 from 12:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.) and the National Champion (2008 Men’s Basketball Championship Cram Session Tuesday, April 8 from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.).

ESPN.com
ESPN.com will offer on-site reports and features from writers Katz, Pat Forde, Gene Wojciechowski, Dana O'Neil and Tim Griffin. Other highlights:
• Vitale and Bilas providing analysis of all Final Four matchups;
• ESPN.com video clips featuring highlights, commentary and more;
• Expert picks on the National Semifinal and Championship games;
• Team breakdowns;
• SportsNation polls and live chats with ESPN experts and sports personalities.

ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic will televise an eight-hour marathon of memorable semifinal games Saturday, April 5 beginning at 10 a.m.

Date Time Show
Sat., April 5 10 a.m. 1989 National Semifinal: Michigan vs. Illinois
noon 1991 National Semifinal: Duke vs. UNLV
2 p.m. 1993 National Semifinal: Michigan vs. Kentucky
4 p.m. 2004 National Semifinal: Duke vs. Connecticut

ESPN Mobile TV
The ESPN WAP site (wireless Web) will offer a Final Four scoreboard and collection of ESPN.com's tournament coverage, including favorite columnists in a special “Featured” section. ESPN MVP on Verizon Wireless will feature Final Four coverage in its Hot Corner section, providing fans one-stop access to news, columns and video analysis.

Source: ESPN

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