New Media Make CBS' $6B NCAA Deal a Slam Dunk

(NEWSER) - Despite a lack of surprises on the court, the first day of March Madness saw a huge jump in visits to the CBS website as well as a bump in TV ratings, the Business Insider reports. The 2.7 million viewers of streaming video online represented a 56% increase over last year, and each visitor watched about an hour of content. On the broadcast end, ratings rose 9% over 2008. More»

CBS re-ups with new 14-year contract

(NEWSER) - March Madness will be just a wee bit madder next year, expanding from 65 teams to 68, the NCAA announced today. Essentially there will be three extra early “play-in” games, ESPN explains. There had been talk of expanding the tournament to as many as 96 teams and engulfing the NIT, but the committee unanimously passed the 68-team proposal instead. More»

Site launches broadcasts with little fanfare

(NEWSER) - YouTube started streaming NCAA tournament games yesterday from CBS, joining several other sites, including ESPN, AOL, and Yahoo, CNET reports. But it seems strange, writes Greg Sandoval, that neither CBS nor YouTube has done much to promote the broadcasts there, given an audience recently estimated at more than 100 million. CBS has long supported YouTube, but it now has its own competing site, TV.com. More»

Don't let college basketball brackets control you

(NEWSER) - Obsessing over your NCAA tournament bracket? A time-management expert tells Esquire how to keep the March Madness time-suck under control.

• Admit you have a problem—possibly after someone tells you, "You really seem to be getting over-involved with this whole thing.”
• Cut back. Sure, "cutting it out completely might be too radical a step." Limit the amount of time you spend on your bracket.
• Replace your obsession with something else. Like, you know, work.

Conference hasn't lived up to its reputation in recent years

(NEWSER) - With March Madness upon us, the hype machine is cranking up again about the Big East, with powers like Louisville, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh. Mike Celizic covered the conference’s period of dominance in the 1980s, but he’s no longer convinced, he writes for NBC Sports. The league has won only two NCAA basketball championships this century, fewer than the Atlantic Coast Conference and tied with the Southeastern. More»