Westwood One’s Final Four® Coverage Connects College Hoops Fans and Consumers across Multiple Platforms: 500+ Radio Stations, SiriusXM, NCAA March Madness Live™, TuneIn Premium, WestwoodOneSports.com, The Varsity Network App, and Alexa-Enabled Devices
Westwood One Provides Exclusive Original Programs “The Final Four Show” and “Championship Monday”
Network’s Coverage Includes the Men’s Final Four and National Championship Games in Spanish, Presented by Werner Ladder
Westwood One’s Women’s Final Four is Presented by Buick
NEW YORK, March 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cumulus Media’s Westwood One (NASDAQ: CMLS), the largest radio network in the U.S. and the exclusive national audio partner of the NCAA, will present comprehensive live audio coverage of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Final Four and National Championship live from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, in both English and Spanish. The network will also broadcast the Women’s Final Four and National Championship live from the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Westwood One’s coverage of the Men’s Final Four will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 1 with “The Final Four Show” followed by the game broadcast at 4:30 p.m. ET. The first national semifinal, between the FAU Owls and the San Diego State Aztecs will tip at 6:09 p.m. ET. The second national semifinal, between the Miami Hurricanes and the UConn Huskies will begin 40 minutes following the conclusion of the first game. On Monday, April 3 audio coverage will commence at 6:30 p.m. ET with the “Championship Monday” pregame show followed by the NCAA Men’s Championship game broadcast at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will tip off at 9:20 p.m. ET.
Westwood One will also broadcast all three men’s games in Spanish, presented by Werner Ladder. Spanish-language coverage of the Final Four commences at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 1 and at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, April 3 for the National Championship.
Westwood One will also provide complete play-by-play coverage of the NCAA Women's Final Four® on Friday, March 31 beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET when the LSU Tigers take on Virginia Tech Hokies. Immediately following, the network will air the second national semifinal, between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks. Coverage of the Women’s National Championship Game will commence on Sunday, April 2 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Westwood One has broadcast the Women’s Final Four every year since 1998. Westwood One’s broadcasts of all three games will be presented by Buick.
ALL-STAR BROADCAST TEAMS
Men’s Final Four (English)
The trio of Kevin Kugler, Jim Jackson, and Clark Kellogg will announce all the action for the Final Four and the National Championship in English. Kugler has been the voice of the Final Four on Westwood One every year since 2008. Jackson, the NCAA Player of the Year in 1992, will serve as Westwood’s game analyst for the third time. For the seventh time, Kellogg will serve as both studio analyst for CBS Sports and Warner Brothers Discovery Sports television coverage in addition to Westwood One’s audio coverage. Immediately following the pregame show broadcast on the TV set, Kellogg will make his way courtside to the Westwood One radio broadcast position to join Kugler and Jackson to call the game. Then he will rejoin TV for halftime before repeating the process in the second half and postgame. Andy Katz will return for the second straight year as courtside reporter; PJ Carlesimo, Doug Gottlieb, and three-time NCAA Player of the Year and Hall of Famer Bill Walton will provide pregame, halftime, and postgame analysis from the Final Four and National Championship. Jason Horowitz will host the pregame and halftime show.
Men’s Final Four (Spanish)
Rafael Hernández Brito will once again serve the play-by-play announcer, his sixth with the network, while former All-American point guard Greivis Vásquez returns as analyst for the fifth time. Former Puerto Rican National Basketball Team coach Carlos Morales will host the broadcasts for the second straight season.
Women’s Final Four (English)
Westwood One’s broadcast crew for the Women’s Final Four and National Championship will consist of Ryan Radtke as play-by-play announcer, Debbie Antonelli as lead analyst, and Krista Blunk as courtside reporter. This will be Antonelli’s 20th season as lead analyst and 27th season overall with the network. Blunk has been an analyst for the network since 2005 and has served as courtside reporter for the Women’s Final Four every season since 2012. Lance Medow will host the Pregame and Halftime shows.
WHERE TO LISTEN
Westwood One’s men’s and women’s Final Four coverage can be heard on terrestrial radio stations nationwide in English; the men’s broadcasts are available in Spanish terrestrially through Univision. All broadcasts will also be distributed via SiriusXM and will be streamed online for free on westwoodonesports.com. Additionally, the broadcasts will be available for free via the NCAA March Madness mobile apps or The Varsity Network app. Fans can also access live audio via Alexa-enabled devices by asking to “Open Westwood One Sports”. TuneIn premium subscribers can also hear all the action live.
Westwood One is the exclusive broadcast radio, digital audio, distribution, and licensing partner for the NCAA Championships. Westwood One has broadcast the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament since 1982 and every game of March Madness® on multiple platforms since 2005. In addition, the network has broadcast the Women’s Final Four and Championship for more than 25 years.
NCAA, Final Four, and March Madness are trademarks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
About Westwood One Sports
Westwood One Sports is home to some of the most exciting sports broadcasts on radio. In addition to NCAA Basketball, including the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Championships and the Final Four; it is also the exclusive provider of the Men’s and Women’s Frozen Four, the Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse Championship, and the Men’s and Women’s College World Series. Westwood One has been the exclusive network radio partner to the NFL since 1987. Westwood One also distributes and represents CBS Sports Radio. On social media, join the Westwood One Sports community on Twitter at twitter.com/westwood1sports. For more information, visit www.westwoodonesports.com.
About Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) is an audio-first media company delivering premium content to over a quarter billion people every month — wherever and whenever they want it. Cumulus Media engages listeners with high-quality local programming through 404 owned-and-operated radio stations across 85 markets; delivers nationally-syndicated sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming from iconic brands including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, CNN, the AP, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and many other world-class partners across more than 9,400 affiliated stations through Westwood One, the largest audio network in America; and inspires listeners through the Cumulus Podcast Network, its rapidly growing network of original podcasts that are smart, entertaining and thought-provoking. Cumulus Media provides advertisers with personal connections, local impact and national reach through broadcast and on-demand digital, mobile, social, and voice-activated platforms, as well as integrated digital marketing services, powerful influencers, full-service audio solutions, industry-leading research and insights, and live event experiences. Cumulus Media is the only audio media company to provide marketers with local and national advertising performance guarantees. For more information visit www.cumulusmedia.com.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a diverse association of more than 1,100 member colleges and universities that prioritize academics, well-being and fairness to create greater opportunities for nearly half a million student-athletes each year. The NCAA provides a pathway to higher education and beyond for student-athletes pursuing academic goals and competing in NCAA sports. More than 54,000 student-athletes experience the pinnacle of intercollegiate athletics by competing in NCAA championships each year. Visit ncaa.org and ncaa.com for more details about the Association and the corporate partnerships that support the NCAA and its student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have AT&T, Capital One and Coca-Cola as official corporate champions and the following elite companies as official corporate partners: Aflac, Buffalo Wild Wings, Buick, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Great Clips, Invesco, LG, Marriott Bonvoy, Nabisco, Nissan, Pizza Hut, Reese’s, TurboTax, Unilever and Wendy’s.
Contact: Karen Glover | Westwood One | kglover@westwoodone.com
