March Madness Webcast Free

Awesome! A network finally gets it. We don’t want to pay for content online — something about that model irks; we’ve grown accustomed to web content being free. CBS will broadcast every game of the first three rounds in the NCAA basketball tourney. March Madness on Demand does require you to register and will blackout your local game, but it’s a fair trade in my book. I’ll be interested to see how their bandwidth holds up that first Thursday and Friday when we’ll access the feeds from work…

Business Week says: Sports events have been shown on the Net in the past, by CBS, ESPN, and others. But the audiences have been limited, since they typically cost viewers money or are niche events. Since the Webcast will be paid for with advertising, it could draw the biggest online viewership ever. The tournament could also showcase how the Internet can provide a better experience than television, in some ways. While TV viewers have to watch whatever game the local CBS affiliate shows, Net viewers get more control and choice. They can follow their favorite team wherever it plays or switch between games when the action flags. They can even pop open three windows and watch a trio of games at once.

Since first-round games go on through the workday on Mar. 16-17, its software is designed to let people view games while keeping bosses from knowing who’s goofing off. Click on the video player’s “boss button” and a spreadsheet pops on-screen. “Not that I recommend watching during work hours, but I understand that people do,” deadpans Sean McManus, president of CBS News & Sports.