Logo

If the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments are played, the games will be broadcast on TV without fans in attendance due to the coronavirus.

From talking with TV producers and executives, there will be adjustments. Here are a handful of things you will likely see.

1. Seven-second delay everywhere: Without fans, everything players say could be heard — from foul language to trash talk. CBS and TNT will take extra precautions.

While national games are usually on a seven-second delay, local ones will be, too. And networks may choose to extend it a little more to be safe.

2. Camera angles: Without having to worry about obscuring the view of fans, producers will have more of a free rein to try new angles. This may produce shots that viewers have never seen before.

3. Announcer positions: With no fans in the arena, what broadcasters say may be heard by all. Now, there is likely going to be music played during the games to up the ambience, but there may be some times where players and coaches can hear what the TV and radio analysts are saying.

Plus, the crews are going to have to be cognizant of not being situated too close to each other so they are not constantly bleeding into each other’s broadcasts.

4. Where things could go: If the games without fans continue, it could lead to broadcasters being located in a network studio to call the game off monitors. There could be a scenario where the home feed is taken by both teams. In that case, there would be just one broadcast.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy