CBS dials up March Madness brackets with virtual circular take

CBS has launched “Center Court,” a virtual environment for its coverage of the 2025 March Madness tournaments with a new spin on the venerable brackets.

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The virtual set can be deployed to any of the CBS-owned stations that have been outfitted with the technology and studio space, with WFOR first to air. CBS Stations has been upgrading stations in its various markets with the same configuration. Outside of college basketball coverage, the studios can also be used for local weather forecasting or other storytelling opportunities, many of them taking place inside a circular environment with slatted accents.

Center Court, however, maintains the rectangular feel of a basketball court, with a sleek black floor with white markings, virtual hoops and a wraparound mezzanine with a skyline depicting host cities peeking through above.

There’s also a virtual CBS logo and giant floating basketball, which add in the circular elements used in many of CBS-owned stations’ on-air looks.

Driving home the circle motif is the “Dialed In Bracket,” a circular dial-shaped stepped element that uses the concept of wedges to present the tournament’s famous brackets that will allow talent to showcase the progression through the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament (in the explainer video shown with this story, the teams’ progression toward the center are examples only).

Segments of the dial can be raised slightly and shown with team colors for the winners of each game, while the losing team’s section becomes monotone and slightly lower. As team logos progress toward the middle, the entire ring also becomes higher than the one before it. In this visualization, the first and second rounds, as well as the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four each get their own ring in the design. 

In addition, there are also additional virtual elements that can be used on-screen, including what appears to be a vertical LED element under the hoops or floating 3D boxes that can enter in, rotate and display topical graphics. 

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The virtual set is powered by Zero Density’s Reality solution with rendering from the Unreal Engine. CBS worked with Myreze on the design, with the firm also creating the virtual weather set.