Cable Awaits the Final Four

On April 8, millions of college-basketball fans are expected to tune into the men's NCAA final on the CBS broadcast network, as they have done annually for more than three decades. Next year, they could be watching on a cable channel for the first time.

Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting, whose TNT, TBS and truTV cable channels already televise games from the tournament's first three rounds, is discussing a possible arrangement with CBS under which it would broadcast the later rounds in 2014, including the widely viewed Final Four semifinal contests and national championship game, people familiar with the matter say. In a joint statement, Turner and CBS said they haven't made a decision on the matter and don't have a timetable. Such a move—part of a broader shift of sports from broadcast to cable—would come two years earlier than initially planned under a 14-year, joint National Collegiate Athletic Association broadcast deal struck between the two companies three years ago. And it would provide a big boost for Time Warner as it enters a round of negotiations next year with pay-television operators that carry its channels, analysts say. The company has said it expects Turner's fee revenue from pay-TV providers to increase at a double-digit annual pace between 2013 and 2016.