Millions of people across the country – especially in the state of Kansas – are wishing that their NCAA college basketball tournament teams were scoring as well as the online video streaming of March Madness.
The NCAA basketball tournament brackets have historically led the field when it comes to “just for fun” office pools. The tourney has a way of bringing together workers that stumble when trying to name 6 out of 64 teams and those basketball snobs who think they know it all (and often end up at the bottom of the betting pool).
But the tournament is breaking new barriers – this time with online video. March Madness is crushing online video records and is proving as valuable to advertisers as traditional television.
CBSsports.com reports fans watched 3.4 million hours of live streaming in just the first day of the 2010 NCAA College Basketball tournament - representing a 20 percent growth verse 2009. The tournament scored the largest video streaming single-day traffic on the Internet.
Better yet, online video watching of major sports events on computers and mobile phones is now commonplace. AT&T actively promotes that fans can watch the game on their phones during the tournament coverage.
The tournament is laying the foundation for true monetization. Call it Monetization Madness. CBS is expecting its highest level of income from online viewers ever. In fact, the network stands to make $37 million this year (just for comparison – way back in 2006, online revenue for CBS was at $4 million).
Online video looks like a real winner for the tournament. I wish I could say the same thing for my picks in our own “just for fun” office pool. At Endavo Media we can certainly help you understand the value of OTT video services and how to monetize them. As for picking winners for March Madness, I’m afraid that you are on your own.
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