CBS Moves March Madness to YouTube

Each Spring the Men's Division I Basketball Championships send sports fans into a frenzy, not only in the United States, but around the world. Many games have previously only been available in selected television markets, leaving many sports fans, particularly those outside the US, waiting to read about the game on the local sports page. All of that is now changing as CBS puts the championship basketball tournament online.

CBS has always embraced new media as a way of enriching the experience for sports fans. CBSSportsline.com was one of the first "official" sports web sites to bring constant, around the clock coverage, updated in real time. The sportsline web site interacted with fans in a way that no other web site had, and provided a wealth of information that could never fit within the television network's traditional programming.

CBS upped the ante this year, by expanding coverage of the basketball championships, referred to as March Madness, to include free internet broadcasts. Before the first game of the 2007 championship tournament began, CBS already had more than 800,000 registered members at their NCAASports.com web site, where fans anywhere in the world can watch any game in Play On Demand mode.

The television network has now gone a step further, making exclusive NCAA videos available on the popular video web site, YouTube.com. The deal with YouTube is part of a sponsorship package with Pontiac, the leading commercial sponsor of the basketball championship tournament.

The men's championship basketball tournament is one of the leading sporting events in the world, and as such, it commands leading sponsorship rates. By the time the tournament reaches the Final Four basketball playoff games, a single 30-second commercial will cost around $1 Million dollars to air. That rate is only matched by commercial sponsorships for the Super Bowl.