CBS March Madness on Demand Goes Mobile

by

mmodappvideo

CBS has launched a $4.99 iPhone application dedicated to streaming all 63 games of the NCAA basketball tournament. The NCAA March Madness on Demand app, powered by MobiTV, also provides:

tournament brackets updated in real-time with up-to-the minute scores, and the ability to click directly from brackets into live video. […] game previews, including team breakdowns and matchup comparison. […]

All in all, this looks like quite the comprehensive tourney tracking tool. Diehard fans will have limited interest in watching the games for extended periods on such a small screen, unless they’re stuck at work or otherwise away from the big screen. $4.99 sure beats the cost and configuration of a Slingbox – which doesn’t yet offer an iPhone client. I’ve got a question out to CBS to learn what sort of video resolution we’re talking about here. Surely the image above is a mock-up…

Click to enlarge:

7 thoughts on “CBS March Madness on Demand Goes Mobile”

  1. This is the sort of thing that is making me want to impulsively go out and get an iPhone this weekend.

    I could easily watch a full game or a full day’s worth on a small screen.

  2. “…I’ve got a question out to CBS to learn what sort of video resolution we’re talking about here. Surely the image above is a mock-up”

    Response from CBS:
    —————————–
    Mr. Zatz,

    The video is in standard iPhone screen resolution…

    …and don’t call me Shirley.

    Sincerely,
    Les Moonves

  3. I had a demo of MobiTV when I got my AT&T Tilt phone. It had about 20 or so channels of content it piped in from sports news some toons and some shows. Played around with it for a month and found it to be a great resolution for the 2.5 inch LCD. You just have to get by a small mobile screen bias.
    I did not find MobiTV worth 10$ a month they wanted because of the content however, so I let the demo drop.

  5. Interesting… the initial press outreach forgot to mention that caveat. Although, all the stats and scores are available via other connections – plus live game audio. Suppose it beats satrad? If they can keep up with demand.

  6. I’m curious about the price. $5 isn’t a ton of money, but people surely have got to be spending less on apps these days. As much as I love the tourney, and I am psyched to have my UW Huskies in this year, I don’t know that it’ll be worth $5 for me.

  7. Unfortunately, CBS is not handling the demand. Several users are reporting despite robust Wi-Fi, that the video does not stay on for long.

Comments are closed.