How great is the NCAA Tournament? So great that I once got caught by my boss watching a buzzer beater and she didn't even care.
It's rare that we write about sports here. However, we're going to make an exception to recognize what CBS has done with the NCAA Tournament and online viewing. March Madness is clearly an oddity in that it has a short window with tremendous demand that continues to grow. What they've done may not be comparable to other media bigs, but it is a good blueprint to follow where applicable.
What's great about what CBS did is that they tested things over a couple of years and were flexible in their approach. Their player worked great right from the start (I got caught by the boss watching a buzzer beater at my desk) and they quickly realized that online viewership enhanced interest in the tournament rather than cannibalized it.
A few years ago, CBS began with registration for online streams of games. The big plus was the ability to watch out-of-market games. The company didn't charge the first year and had incredible viewership numbers. They did charge $19.99 more recently, but now they have gotten rid of that fee. Plus, games will no longer be blacked out locally to protect the TV interests. Revenue keeps going up and fans have great access to every game. It's shocking that the miserable NCAA has anything to do with this process.
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