CBS and TNT Sports’ NCAA Tournament studio coverage will have a different look for the first few rounds.
TNT studio host Ernie Johnson has decided to ‘step back’ from the first two weeks of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and will instead make his first appearance at the Men’s Final Four. He will be replaced through the Regional Finals by CBS NFL analyst and “CBS This Morning” co-host Nate Burleson.
Burleson will share hosting duties from CBS Sports’ New York studios with Adam Zucker. TNT’s Adam Lefkoe will host the secondary studio show from Atlanta.
Ahead of the tournament, Burleson will host college basketball studio coverage on CBS and CBSSN this coming Sunday. The college basketball hosting roles are almost certainly a precursor to future roles for Burleson, who would have to be considered a main contender to eventually succeed James Brown as host of “The NFL Today.”
As for Johnson, the reduced role comes as the TNT-produced NBA studio shows “NBA Tip-Off” and “Inside the NBA” are set to ramp up appearances on ESPN/ABC. The shows will be on for three-straight nights each of the next three weeks, with the nine total dates matching the number of nights they were on before the All-Star break.
Johnson is also set to work to the end of the NBA season for the first time in 17 years, as the TNT crew is scheduled to cover the NBA Finals for the first time as ABC’s primary studio show. He will be the first broadcaster to host both the NCAA Men’s Final Four and NBA Finals since Brent Musburger in 1984. Johnson last hosted NBA Finals coverage in 2009 as part of special “Inside the NBA” postgame shows on NBA TV after Games 3, 4 and 5.
Johnson has co-hosted NCAA Tournament coverage since TNT Sports — then Turner Sports — entered the picture in 2011. For most of those years, he shared hosting duties with the late Greg Gumbel. Between Johnson’s decision to step back, Gumbel’s passing in late 2024, and longtime play-by-play voice Jim Nantz leaving his tournament role the prior year, it is clear that coverage of the tournament has shifted into a different era.
