CBS Sports' MMOD Sees Increase In Users During First Three Days

MMOD Numbers For First Three Days Of Tourney Already Surpass Last Year's Totals

CBS Sports' March Madness On Demand (MMOD) drew 4.8 million unique users and 5.6 million hours of consumed audio and video during the first three days (March 19-21) of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, measures that surpass the online draws for the entire '08 tournament. While further records for MMOD in both audience size and content consumption were widely expected prior to the tournament, the rates of growth surpassed those projected by CBSSports.com execs. The 4.8 million unique users is 60% higher than the 3 million drawn for the first three days of the '08 tournament, and above the 4.7 million unique users for all of last year. The 5.6 million hours of consumed audio and video is 64% higher than the 3.4 million for the first three days last year, and more than the 4.9 million hours for all of MMOD in '08. CBSSports.com Senior VP & GM Jason Kint prior to the tournament said 50% audience growth "would be nice,” but shied away from making a firm prediction. Kint: “We’re definitely off to a very strong start. We’ve had a bunch of great games, and some of the promotional things we did, like the cross-marketing with the other CBS Interactive properties, is helping boost awareness.” Kint additionally cited a lack of conflict this year with Good Friday, which last year coincided with the second day of the tournament.

NUMBERS GAME: The first day of the tournament itself also posted new MMOD records, with 2.7 million unique users, 56% above last year, and 2.8 million hours of consumer audio and video, 65% higher than the tournament’s opening day in '08. Memphis’ narrow victory over Cal State Northridge in particular was a popular draw during the day. “You could definitely see the traffic shifting heavily over to that game as it progressed,” Kint said. Roughly half of all MMOD users were using the higher-quality video experience enabled by a new relationship with Microsoft’s Silverlight video player. MMOD numbers will now begin to tail off considerably as the tournament shifts to more prime-time game windows. But Kint said he expects the level of relative growth from '08 to continue. Kint: “The awareness and distribution partners are so much more than last year, so I have every reason to think that these kind of 60% growth numbers will hold up” (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal). Fox Business’ Charles Payne said more people watching the NCAA tournament online was "inevitable.” Payne: “The technology didn’t match the hype initially, but it is a double-edge sword when it comes to business (productivity)” (“Money for Breakfast,” Fox Business, 3/21).

BOSS BUTTON: Through Saturday, the Comcast-sponsored “Boss Button” had been clicked 2.3 million times, nearly equal to the 2.5 million times during all of last year. To that end, Kint expected a new record there as well by the end of yesterday (Fisher). On Long Island, Neil Best wrote, “I intensely dislike the latest iteration of the popular Boss Button.” What “used to be an amusing, fake spreadsheet designed to trick your boss into thinking you are not goofing off during the NCAA Tournament instead is a not-very-amusing, Comcast-sponsored, multi-colored thing full of … basketball stats?” (NEWSDAY.com, 3/20).

EVERYBODY INTO THE POOL: ESPN.com has received more than five million entries for its 14th annual Men’s Tournament Challenge, an increase of 37% over last year’s record of 3.65 million (ESPN).