CBS Sports' MMOD Feed Impressive, Likely To Break User Records

Kint Estimates 50% Of Viewers Used HQ Player

CBSSports.com Senior VP & GM Jason Kint said viewership for the site's March Madness On Demand (MMOD) during this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament is poised to "break last year's record" of 4.8 million unique users, according to Mel Bracht of the DAILY OKLAHOMAN. This season is MMOD's fourth iteration as a free service, and "viewership numbers have skyrocketed" since its inception, jumping 164% from '07 to '08 alone. This year's MMOD application offers viewers the "option of using a new high-quality [HQ] video player," and Kint estimated that "about half of viewers" were using it. Bracht notes that both the HQ player and the standard feed "had its advantages." The HQ player "provided a better picture, but was slower to switch between games." The standard player "also provided scores on the game menu, which benefited viewers in deciding which games to watch" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 3/20). Kint said that the "early returns also indicated one obvious trend from the early-afternoon window" on Thursday -- the Memphis-Cal State Northridge game was "at least twice as popular as the others." Kint: "We could see people moving there" (NEWSDAY, 3/20).

SO EASY A CAVEMAN COULD USE IT: The quality of the MMOD standard-definition and HQ offerings Thursday afternoon varied greatly, with the latter comparable to the net’s TV feed. The standard broadcast, the default setting, offers a slightly blurry picture, yet flows smoothly and never pauses to buffer. The upgrade to HQ is relatively seamless and includes just a brief ad. The HQ setting is comparable to HD for TV, offering a remarkably clear picture alongside a smooth-flowing video feed, though it occasionally paused to buffer later in Thursday's coverage. Outside of picture quality, there are several other noticeable differences between the feeds. The standard player Thursday allowed users to switch to a different game at any point, while HQ viewers were unable to switch to other live action during a commercial stoppage. The screen while in standard feed offers several applications, most notably links to press conferences, game previews and a scoreboard, as well as an option that allows users to update their Facebook status. While the standard feed offers more applications for viewers, the HQ telecast’s superior video quality makes it the preferred way to watch the games (Helfrich & Bentubo, THE DAILY).

Writers Rave About MMOD's High-Quality Picture

QUALITY ON DEMAND: YAHOO SPORTS' Eamonn Brennan wrote under the header, "March Madness On Demand Is Pretty Much Awesome." In previous years, MMOD users were "stuck in a virtual waiting line," but this year, a "simple click" launches the application. Brennan: "No VIP. No waiting line." Once the player loads, it is "streamlined, it's fast, and it's all HD quality, making it about ten times better than last year's grainy picture." Everything about MMOD is "better this year" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/19). In San Jose, John Ryan writes the HQ player is "like heaven," and you will "never feel the need to go to a bar to watch a game again" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 3/20). THE BIG LEAD wrote, "How awesome is MMOD this year? It's incredibly easy to change the channel, and the picture quality is off the charts. If you're wondering why nobody's in any of these arenas, it's because you can watch all the games online" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 3/19).

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: PAID CONTENT's Staci Kramer wrote if viewers "like watching decent quality video, don't try the standard MMOD player full screen, at least not on a 24-inch" computer screen. Smaller "is fine," and the HQ player was "much better." The full-screen standard player on an 11" monitor is "still jagged," and the HQ "was higher, indeed, but not as sharp" as expected. Kramer: "If CBS wants to prove the PC isn't a total TV substitute, good job" (PAIDCONTENT.org, 3/19). In San Diego, Jay Posner notes there was no scoreboard Thursday on the HQ feed "as part of the video player or superimposed at the top of the screen (the way it is on TV), so there's no way of knowing what's going on with the other games" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/20). The Facebook application, which provides real-time status updates from a user’s friends, as well as other users of the social networking site, is absent from the HQ feed, as are many other side applications available on the standard screen (Bentubo & Helfrich).

YouTube Has Been Streaming NCAA Tournament Via Feed From CBS

OTHER WAYS TO WATCH: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth writes if MMOD is the "greatest innovation for NCAA Tournament consumption," the new iPhone application this year "may be a close second." The iPhone application, along with DirecTV's "Mega March Madness" package, is yet "another step toward ending the reliance on the over-the-air CBS telecast of network-knee-jerk cuts from one game to another" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 3/20). CNET NEWS' Greg Sandoval reported YouTube Thursday "quietly began streaming" the tournament via a feed from CBS, which has "been a big booster of YouTube and all of the company's content partners for a long time." Sandoval: "I don't understand why CBS wouldn't have promoted this more in order to take full advantage of YouTube's enormous audience." However, CBS owns TV.com, a competitor of YouTube (CNET.com, 3/19). SILICON ALLEY INSIDER's Dan Frommer noted Justin.tv was streaming games Thursday, with more than 550 people watching the North Carolina-Radford game at one point on one channel (BUSINESSINSIDER.com, 3/19).