March Madness On Demand Sets Record For Online Sports Event
|
March Madness On Demand Surpasses
1.2 Million Streams On First Day |
CBS SportsLine’s NCAA March Madness On Demand (MMOD), which is streaming the first
56 games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament live for free, on Thursday set
what CBS says is an Internet record for a scheduled live entertainment or sports
event with over 268,000 simultaneous streams. In total, MMOD has already surpassed
1.2 million video streams (CBS). The events that have attracted the previous
largest online audiences “include Yahoo’s coverage of Howard Stern's final day
in terrestrial radio, which, according to Yahoo, pulled 214,000 simultaneous viewers,
and the Live 8 concert shown on Time Warner's AOL.com site, during which 175,000
simultaneous viewers were said to have logged on” (MARKETWATCH.com, 3/15).
CBS SportsLine spokesperson Alex Riethmiller said of the opening day of the tournament,
“Some people saw significant waits, especially early in the day. In the beginning,
there were more than 100,000 users in the general admission queue waiting to get
in.” Riethmiller added that MMOD “started cautiously, using only a portion of
its bandwidth in the early games and then adding capacity as the day went on.”
Riethmiller: “We steadily increased bandwidth, and people got in, including the
general admission people” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/17).
SMOOTH SURFING: Two SBD Staff Writers had generally smooth experiences
with MMOD Thursday. Those accounts — one from a staffer with VIP status,
one without — are available in Thursday's Closing Bell.
OTHER REVIEWS: USA TODAY’s Jon Swartz writes of MMOD, “My viewing experience
went well. The picture and sound were clear, and switching between games was easy.
I surfed the Web, and exchanged e-mail and instant messages while the game ran
in the background” (USA TODAY, 3/17). In L.A., Larry Stewart writes MMOD
“was kind of neat — for a minute or two. You’d have to be a real fan of one
of the participating teams to stick with it.” Stewart, who registered early enough
to garner VIP status, “didn’t have any trouble getting online.” But a colleague
with general admission access “finally gave up and went back to work” (L.A.
TIMES, 3/17). In California, Jim Carlisle writes “about six minutes into my
look at the Wisconsin-Milwaukee game against Oklahoma, the feed cut out for about
three minutes” (VENTURA COUNTY STAR, 3/17).
DID YOU WATCH? Tell us about your experience with MMOD at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
ONLINE PROGNOSTICATORS: ESPN.com’s annual “Men’s Tournament Challenge”
bracket contest drew 1.5 million fans and over 3 million submissions, its most
ever (ESPN).
|
Related Stories By Company
|
Related Stories By Sport
|
MMOD Traffic Up On First Day
March 16, 2007 :
SportsBusiness Daily
CBS Forecasts Profit For "MMOD"
March 14, 2007 :
SportsBusiness Daily
CBS SportsLine Offering Fantasy Rebates
December 15, 2006 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Companies Limiting CBS SportsLine Access
March 16, 2006 :
SportsBusiness Daily
CBS SportsLine Airing NCAA Webcasts
March 7, 2006 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
San Diego State AD Jeff Schemmel Resigns
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Report: Minorities Not Getting Coaching Jobs
November 19, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Penn State Alters Football Season Tix Plan
November 18, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Russell Athletic Pressured On Labor
November 18, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
St. Peter's, Monmouth Benefit From ESPN
November 18, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
|
