March Madness On Demand a Success

The opening weekend of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament shines a light on the overwhelming success of March Madness On Demand (MMOD), launched in 2003 by the NCAA and CBS Sports, but made available free of charge for the past four tournaments.

March Madness on Demand provides viewers the ability to watch via computer and broadband internet connection every game of the tournament, and has grown and improved in quality and functionality each year.

The biggest leap of faith came in 2006 when the subscription model was dropped in favor of advertisements from some of its most prominent sponsors, most notably presenting sponsors Courtyard by Marriott and Dell.

Even with the free model, available bandwidth was regulated by requiring users to register for “VIP Passes,” while those who did not were subject to pass through a “virtual waiting room” and risk being bumped out when capacity is reached.

By 2008 the registration process was dropped as bandwidth was increased and the ability to accommodate the explosion in traffic resulted in even greater popularity for MMOD. In turn, advertisers continued to be rewarded and greater innovations were applied, setting the stage for record numbers in 2009.

The traffic numbers for the first three days of this year's tournament already surpassed the those for the entire 2008 tournament, according to Sports Business Daily. Through my own use I can attest the product is better than ever, and even more convenient to use, further proving the tremendous vision of the parties involved to capture and build on the popularity of the NCAA Tournament.

Instead of worrying about fragmenting the TV audience, CBS Sports and the NCAA counted on the fact that, when possible, viewers would still watch on TV, but that increased access to the games people want would only increase passion for college basketball, and ultimately bring more eyeballs to the coveted television broadcasts of the games. It was a winning idea all the way around, and the biggest winners have been college basketball fans everywhere.

Score one for the NCAA and CBS Sports, who were bold enough to create a new model to reach viewers and fans amidst a fast-changing technological world. Instead of playing victim to these forces, they harnessed their power and have only served to increase the popularity of the tournament while finding a way to monetize the innovation.

--Paul Kirk / www.prolinksports.net