In short, all rounds before the Final Four should be shifted by two days. This would allow no games to be missed due to being at work during the round of 64. The round of 32 would fall on Monday and Tuesday, but very few games would be missed because with the current schedule, only 2 games (one at 12:10 and another at 2:40) even take place before 5 ET on round of 32 weekend. If most of the games are in the evening anyway, there's no reason not to have those games on Monday and Tuesday.
On the second weekend, shifting the schedule by two days would allow quadrupleheaders on Saturday and Sunday for the Sweet 16 instead of having the games on Thursday and Friday night when time constraints force games to be played at the same time. The Elite 8 could be on Monday and Tuesday night, since having only two games each day means that they don't have to take place at the same time.
There would be two fewer days of rest before the Final Four, but that is little price to pay for amount of benefits that could come by switching the schedule to the above.
all times are pm ET
CURRENT SCHEDULE NEW SCHEDULE
First Four First Four
Tuesday Thursday
6:40 truTV 6:40 truTV
9:10 truTV 9:10 truTV
Wednesday Friday
6:40 truTV 6:40 truTV
9:10 truTV 9:10 truTV
round of 64 round of 64
Thursday Saturday
12:15 CBS 12:15 CBS
12:40 truTV 12:40 truTV
1:40 TBS 1:40 TBS
2:10 TNT 2:10 TNT
2:45 CBS 2:45 CBS
3:10 truTV 3:10 truTV
4:10 TBS 4:10 TBS
4:40 TNT 4:40 TNT
6:50 TBS 6:50 TBS
7:10 CBS 7:10 CBS
7:20 TNT 7:20 TNT
7:27 truTV 7:27 truTV
9:20 TBS 9:20 TBS
9:40 CBS 9:40 CBS
9:50 TNT 9:50 TNT
9:57 truTV 9:57 truTV
Friday Sunday
12:15 CBS 12:10 CBS
12:40 truTV 12:40 truTV
1:40 TBS 1:40 TBS
2:10 TNT 2:10 TNT
2:45 CBS 2:40 CBS
3:10 truTV 3:10 truTV
4:10 TBS 4:10 TBS
4:40 TNT 4:40 TNT
6:50 TBS 5:15 CBS
7:10 CBS 7:10 TBS
7:20 TNT 7:20 TNT
7:27 truTV 7:27 truTV
9:20 TBS 9:20 TBS
9:40 CBS 9:40 CBS
9:50 TNT 9:50 TNT
9:57 truTV 9:57 truTV
The reason for the changes on the Sunday schedule (in bold) are to allow CBS to maintain the 12:10/2:40/5:15 tripleheader it currently has on the first Sunday of the tournament, which it likes to have as a lead-in to 60 Minutes. CBS would have to modify its Sunday primetime lineup to only include one show after 60 Minutes before returning to action at 9:40.
round of 32 round of 32
Saturday Monday
12:10 CBS 12:10 CBS
2:40 CBS 2:40 CBS
5:15 CBS 5:15 CBS
6:10 TNT 6:10 TNT
7:10 TBS 7:10 TBS
7:45 CBS 7:45 CBS
8:40 TNT 8:40 TNT
9:40 TBS 9:40 TBS
Sunday Tuesday
12:10 CBS 12:10 CBS
2:40 CBS 2:40 CBS
5:15 CBS 5:15 CBS
6:10 TNT 6:10 TNT
7:10 TBS 7:10 TBS
7:45 truTV 7:45 CBS
8:40 TNT 8:40 TNT
9:40 TBS 9:40 TBS
Number of games on the first weekend completely missed due to being at work, assuming coming home from work at 6, and assuming each game takes two-and-a-half hours:
Under old schedule, if you live in the:
Eastern Time Zone: 12 games missed
Central Time Zone: 14 games missed
Mountain Time Zone: 16 games missed
Pacific Time Zone: 16 games missed
Under new schedule, if you live in the:
Eastern Time Zone: 4 games missed
Central Time Zone: 4 games missed
Mountain Time Zone: 6 games missed
Pacific Time Zone: 8 games missed
Sweet 16 Sweet 16
Thursday Saturday
7:15 CBS 12:49 CBS
7:47 TBS 3:29 CBS
9:45 CBS 6:09 TBS
10:17 TBS 8:49 TBS
The second Saturday of the tournament currently features an Elite 8 doubleheader on TBS at 6:09 and 8:49, so I simply added two CBS times earlier in the day to create an NBA playoff style quadrupleheader, which I believe is better than having the simultaneous games on Thursday night. I'd prefer watching all four games in their entirety over having to constantly channel-change on Thursday night.
Friday Sunday
7:15 CBS 2:10 CBS
7:37 TBS 4:55 CBS
9:45 CBS 7:37 TBS
10:07 TBS 10:17 TBS
The second Sunday of the tournament currently features an Elite 8 doubleheader on CBS at 2:10 and 4:55, so I simply added two TBS times at night to create another NBA playoff style quadrupleheader, for similar reasons. I'd rather watch all four games than have to channel-change on Friday night.
Elite 8 Elite 8
Saturday Monday
6:09 TBS 7:37 TBS
8:49 TBS 10:17 CBS
Sunday Tuesday
2:10 CBS 7:37 TBS
4:55 CBS 10:17 CBS
On my new Monday/Tuesday Elite 8 schedule, the idea behind putting the first game on TBS each night and the second on CBS is that CBS could still air a two-hour primetime of their normal Monday and Tuesday lineups from 8-10. Also, the contracts call for the Elite 8 to be split evenly between TBS and CBS.
Final Four Final Four
Saturday Saturday
6:09 CBS(odd year)TBS(even year) 6:09 CBS(odd year)TBS(even year)
8:49 CBS(odd year)TBS(even year) 8:49 CBS(odd year)TBS(even year)
National Championship Game National Championship Game
Monday Monday
9:18 CBS(odd year)TBS(even year) 9:18 CBS(odd year)TBS(even year)
