CBSSports.com has dropped its registration requirements for NCAA March Madness on Demand, giving immediate access to the video player to a large network of sites across the Internet. CBSSports.com has created a Developer Platform, located at
http://www.ncaa.com/mmod/developer, giving sites all the necessary tools and information to link directly to live streaming video from one of the world's most popular sporting events.
NCAA March Madness on Demand will be available at NCAA.com as well as links on CBSSports.com, the CBS Audience Network, sites for CBS television and radio affiliates, online video leader YouTube, other major sports websites such as ESPN.com, Yahoo! Sports and SI.com and leading social sites like Facebook.
The NCAA March Madness on Demand promotion on Facebook is part of the recently launched "CBSSports.com Tournament Brackets" application on Facebook Platform. Located at
www.facebook.com/brackets, CBSSports.com Tournament Brackets is available to the site's more than 67 million active users both online and via CBS Sports Mobile, creating a cross platform experience for all NCAA basketball fans that should drive tremendous traffic to NCAA March Madness on Demand.
2008 marks the first year that CBSSports.com will allow users to view the live streaming video of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship without having to register for the product. Previously, all fans wanting to view NCAA March Madness on Demand had to be registered users of CBSSports.com.
With expectations that open access to NCAA March Madness on Demand will create record demand for the product, CBSSports.com is again urging fans to sign up to obtain VIP status. Fans that don't have VIP status will be placed in the General Admission area where they will experience longer wait times to get into the NCAA March Madness on Demand player if it is full on game day(s). At present, over half of the 500,000 VIP passes have been taken.
While supplies last, fans can obtain VIP access at
NCAA.com.
As was previously announced, 2008 will also mark the first time that NCAA March Madness on Demand will give users the ability to view all 63 games of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, from the first round of the tournament through the Men's Final Four(R) in San Antonio, including the Championship game. NCAA March Madness on Demand also will give users the option to listen to live play-by-play audio from Westwood One Radio for all games of the tournament, including the Opening Round game on March 18.
Since its inception in 2003, NCAA March Madness on Demand has traditionally provided live video of 56 games from the first round through the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship as they are broadcast by CBS Sports, with local broadcasts being subject to blackouts.
Now available at NCAA.com, The NCAA March Madness on Demand video player currently features highlights from the past 25 years of CBS Sports' presentation of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Full game archives and highlight packages will be available on demand for 63 games of the tournament via the NCAA March Madness on Demand player. Additionally, highlight packages also will be made available on the CBS Interactive Audience Network as well as YouTube. The NCAA March Madness on Demand player and archival footage will be accessible through April 21.
The 2008 NCAA March Madness on Demand video player will showcase a new wide screen (640 X 360 pixels) format along with additional features such as live scoreboards and the infamous "Boss Button". CBSSports.com again will produce a live halftime show for NCAA March Madness on Demand featuring CBSSports.com original video host Jason Horowitz along with men's basketball head coaches Norm Roberts (St. John's) and Fred Hill (Rutgers). "At The Half" will start when the first game goes to halftime and continues all the way until the last game in that window returns to second-half action.
Free access to 2008 NCAA March Madness on Demand is made possible by presenting sponsors and NCAA Corporate Champions AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Pontiac.
Final 2007 NCAA March Madness on Demand Traffic Numbers:
1. Minutes of Live Streaming video viewed -- 2,598,889 total hours of Live Video (155,933,340 minutes)
2. Unique users -- 1,381,875 total unique users
3. VIP Registrations -- 468,720 VIP Registrations
Click here to see a mockup of the 2008 March Madness on Demand video player:
http://images.sportsline.com/images/info/ir/press/2008/08MMODplayer.jpg Availability of NCAA March Madness on Demand is subject to capacity restrictions. Certain terms and restrictions apply. Full terms at
http://www.ncaasports.com/info/tos/mmod/