NCAA MARCH MADNESS ON DEMAND TO BE OFFERED FREE OF CHARGE ON NCAASPORTS.COM POWERED BY CBS SPORTSLINE.COM
CBS Sports, CBS SportsLine.com and CSTV Team up with the NCAA to Provide Exclusive Live Out-of-Market Video Streaming of 2006 NCAA® Division I Men's Basketball Championship
CBS Sports, CBS SportsLine.com and CSTV (College Sports Television) have teamed up with the NCAA to provide the exclusive live video streaming rights for out-of-market game coverage of the 2006 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
For the first time, NCAA March Madness on Demand will be offered free of charge. Beginning March 16, 2006, fans will be able to watch live CBS Sports broadcasts of the NCAA Tournament from outside their viewing area via NCAAsports.com, the official NCAA website, produced by CBS SportsLine.com. NCAA March Madness on Demand will be supported by advertising sales.
The game of primary regional interest will be shown exclusively on the local CBS affiliate. NCAA March Madness on Demand will feature the out-of-market games being played concurrently.
In addition to promotion on the CBS Television Network, CBS SportsLine.com and NCAAsports.com, CBS will offer a portal to NCAA March Madness on Demand through CSTV.com, including all of CSTV's online properties, consisting of more than 250 official college athletic websites, which are maintained and managed for the institutions by CSTV. CBS announced in November its planned acquisition of CSTV Networks, Inc.
"This is the perfect example of maximizing both the Network's NCAA bundled rights and the full range of assets of the new CBS Corporation," said Sean McManus, President, CBS Sports and News. "This wide distribution of CBS Sports' game coverage, promoted by CSTV and available via NCAAsports.com, will add to the total NCAA March Madness on Demand experience for hard core college basketball fans everywhere."
"Being able to offer March Madness on Demand through NCAAsports.com free of charge further demonstrates the NCAA's and CBS's commitment to deliver every game of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship to as many fans as possible," said Tom Jernstedt, Executive Vice President, NCAA. "The evolution of broadband technology and growth of NCAAsports.com has allowed us to give more access to the championship to more fans."
"For the first time ever, fans everywhere will have an opportunity to see their teams play live, at no charge, on NCAAsports.com via our new broadband channel, no matter where or when that game is being played," said Larry Kramer, President, CBS Digital Media. "We're very pleased to offer this event programming for free on the web, where the millions of users on NCAAsports.com and CBS SportsLine.com will significantly add to the nation-wide audience of the NCAA series. And by tapping into the huge promotional reach of CSTV, we have a direct pipeline to the games' most ardent supporters -- there won't be a basketball fan out there who doesn't know about the NCAA games on CBS, NCAAsports.com and CBS SportsLine.com."
"Deals like this are why it's so great for CSTV to be a part of the CBS family," said Brian Bedol, CEO, CSTV Networks. "Fans now have a portal to out-of-market games through their favorite collegiate website. CSTV was proud to work with CBS Sports and the NCAA to offer NCAA March Madness on Demand this past spring, and is even prouder now to be creating this even greater online sports experience with CBS as our new owners."
NCAA March Madness on Demand will offer live and on demand streaming video of up to the first 56 NCAA Tournament games on an out-of-market basis, through the regional semi-finals, and also will feature streaming video of interviews and pre- and post-game press conferences, in addition to video highlights. Webcasts of games broadcast by CBS Sports in fans' local markets will be subject to blackouts.
CBS SportsLine.com has the rights to produce, host and manage the official NCAA Championship website, NCAAsports.com, as well as the Internet rights to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship and many other NCAA championships.
