DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SMT (SportsMEDIA Technology Corporation), the leading provider of graphics, statistics and video enhancement solutions, today announced it is supporting CBS and Turner in their partnership to nationally broadcast the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. SMT, a long time partner of both networks, is providing the underlying technology that integrates and instantaneously publishes live scores and statistics for the 68 teams competing during the 21 days of March Madness. This is the first year that every game will be broadcast nationally on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV stations. SMT has been supporting March Madness broadcasts for the past 13 years.
SMT’s Technology Integrates Clock, Score and Statistics in Real-time
SMT’s technology creates and synchronizes clock, score and statistics for college basketball fans watching live at the game or at home. SMT’s Autograph® Clock and Score System captures clock data from scoreboards during the games. SMT’s Data Matrix (DMX) Switchboard™ integrates the clock feeds and real-time in-game statistics with season and career statistics. The information is then instantly published by SMT’s DMX Switchboard for use by CBS and Turner graphics systems and by on-air talent both at the venue and at the CBS studio in New York and the Turner studio in Atlanta.
“SMT has been working closely with CBS and Turner over the past several months to set up, configure and test all of the live statistical information for March Madness 2011,” said John Dengler, vice president of technology for SMT. “We were very fortunate that SMT was already partners with both networks. We were able to draw on our knowledge, experience and relationships with each entity and act as the glue to keep all the critical information flowing seamlessly in order to produce these broadcasts successfully.”
CBS College Sports Network Leverages SMT’s Technology
Additionally, SMT is providing services and support to CBS’s CBS College Sports (CBCS) Network for their coverage of the tournament. SMT services include integration of real-time clocks and statistics to CBSC’s Chyron Generator (CG) system, the Ticker, and GOTO™ Board. The GOTO Board displays the brackets and links live game statistics instantaneously, even as multiple games are being played simultaneously.
SMT’s Data Operations Center (DOC) in Durham, North Carolina serves as the centralized hub where basketball scores and statistics from each tournament are integrated in real-time. The DOC has been outfitted with three levels of redundancy to ensure that game clock and score information is available on television 100 percent of the time.
March Madness began on March 15, 2011. For the first time, the tournament has expanded to 68 teams and 67 games. The Final Four will be held on April 2-4, 2011 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.
About SMT
SMT (SportsMEDIA Technology Corporation), headquartered in Durham, NC, is a leading provider of graphics, statistics and video enhancement software and services for live television sports broadcast networks. Founded in 1988, SMT pioneered the first real-time scoring and wireless data system. SMT continues to develop and deliver customized products and services to enhance the production quality and viewers' experience of sporting events. The company has won 17 Emmy awards since 1993. SMT’s solutions have been used at the most prestigious sporting events including the Super Bowl, NBC Sunday Night Football, the Indianapolis 500, the NCAA Final Four, the Kentucky Derby, ESPN Summer and Winter X Games, NBA on TNT, NASCAR and NHL. SMT’s customers include all major broadcast television companies as well as several regional and specialty sports networks. For more information, visit www.sportsmedia.com.