This year’s CBS Sports coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will offer a broadcasting first as all first- and second-round games will be broadcast in HD. The key this year is the addition of new HD distribution capabilities at the network operations center that allow for the many different incarnations of constant and flex feeds that need to be sent out to stations across the country to go all HD.

When the USA Today tackled the issue of March Madness streaming and workplace productivity one would think Federal Reserve Chair Bernanke may soon have to intervene because CBSSports.com’s success in streaming video of March Madness to the workplace will shut down the U.S. economy. In reality, CBS’ opening the online floodgates giving consumers free access to all of the 63 NCAA men’s basketball tournament games is shaping up to be a case study of success demonstrating the power and importance of developing a savvy online strategy.

In the ever-competitive market of college sports broadcasting, ESPNU is looking to find an edge through its newest group of broadcasters – college students. ESPNU’s Campus Connection program invites students at partner universities to create their own segments to air on ESPN’s platforms, learn the ins and outs of ESPN production and even work on an ESPN network broadcast. “It’s one thing to show games, and that’s a big portion of what we do,” explains Dan Margulis, director of programming and acquisitions for ESPNU. “But this is the perfect testing ground for trying new things. Students that are on campus bring a whole different perspective, and in many cases they are the future of what we do.”

The Washington Nationals will open the season in a new stadium, Nationals Park but it will also usher in a new era in Nationals broadcasting as Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) makes the jump to HD. MASN, also home of the Baltimore Orioles, also broadcasts the Birds in HD but the addition of the Nats will drive the number of HD games it broadcasts to 80. All games will be broadcast in 1080i and the new games are the result of a new ballpark that is HD friendly.

ESPN recently made use of a new wireless video transmission system from 3G wireless that does not require a second crew member to be tethered to the cameraperson and ensure that the signal hits the line-of-sight transmission link. Instead the system is “pointer-less” and allowed three camerapeople at the Senior Skins golf tournament in Maui to freely roam the course.

Sports venue scoreboard operators are always looking for new ways to capture the attention of fans with sound effects. "There's no absolute trend in the sounds played at games," says Fran Kowalski, Sound & Video Productions co-owner. "Some teams, like the Philadelphia 76ers and the Dallas Mavericks, love to push the envelope in terms of sounds and effects. Other teams can be conservative, playing the same clips year after year, because the fans know them and respond to them."

Virtual graphic systems have evolved over the years but one constant has been the need for camera and lens modifications. Orad Hi-Tec Systems is looking to change that with the MVP sports enhancement platform that debuts at NAB floor this year and the company says it provides a comprehensive video and graphic enhancement system for any type of sports event.

Avid Technology has begun taking steps to right some wrongs and refocus the company on customer needs and service today with significant enhancements to Avid’s online customer support user-interface (http://support.avid.com) – a popular support destination for the company’s professional film and video customers.

Solid State Logic, a manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for film, audio, video and broadcast professionals, is pleased to feature the C300 HD Master Studio System with its entire C Series product portfolio at NAB 2008, April 14-17, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in booth #N4031.

Omneon at NAB will be highlighting ProCast, a file transport engine employing unique acceleration technology that allows for high-speed file transfers over a wide area network (WAN).

Major League Baseball will open the 2008 regular season on March 25 with the World Series champion Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's in Japan. XM Satellite Radio will air three live broadcasts of the game, including one broadcast in Japanese.

The Connecticut Sun reached a multi-year agreement with MyTV9/WCTX, and will televise a minimum of eight games during the 2008 season.

Jacked, Inc. has partnered with KCAL 9 in Los Angeles to promote “Carl’s Jr. Lakers Live SportsTop,” an interactive, two-screen viewing experience for all Lakers games throughout the remainder of the current NBA season as well as the 2008-09 season. “Everyone at KCAL 9 is excited to take our award-winning coverage of the Lakers to an exciting new level with the Carl’s Jr. Lakers Live SportsTop,” said Don Corsini, President & General Manager, KCAL 9. “Our partnership with Jacked allows us to enhance the viewing experience for Lakers fans by providing them with new and innovative online components that will support the live KCAL 9 broadcast experience.”

The National Hockey League (NHL) will be televising NHL Live in high definition by NHL in the U.S. and Canada. NHL Live will be the first XM Satellite Radio show to be simulcast daily by a television network. NHL Network’s HD simulcast of the two-hour show debuts Monday, March 17 at Noon ET. NHL Live originates from the NHL/XM studio inside the NHL Powered By Reebok retail location in the heart of New York City and can be heard Monday through Friday on NHL Home Ice (XM 204) and NHL.com.

Media Links, Inc. MD-003 transport platform has been selected by TV Azteca, Mexico’s second largest television broadcaster to interconnect key broadcast and sports venues throughout Mexico City. TV Azteca joins the fast growing list of professional media and broadcast customers deploying highly robust video transport solutions from Media Links.

Conklin-Intracom has ordered a combination of WEGENER’s SMD-515 set tops and remote controls for premium IPTV services, including: HD programming, video on demand and integrated personal video recording (PVR). The order totals over $1.6 million and will be used to support the IPTV offerings of multiple telco operators.