The NCAA, Turner Sports, and CBS Sports made a large bet on NCAA March Madness Live, the jointly-created digital platform that allows tournament followers to watch live games on their computers, and iOS and Android devices. If this year’s post-tournament numbers are any indication, the bet has paid off.
Across online and mobile platforms, NCAA March Madness Live garnered 49 million live video streams, up 168% compared to 2012, and more than 14 million hours of live video consumed – both all-time records.
The NCAA March Madness Live app was ranked No. 1 as the top sports app in the App Store and Google Play during the tournament. It was also the No. 1 free app across all categories in the App Store. The 3.4 million unique visitors that watched live video on their mobile devices was a 109% increase over the entire tournament last year.
If the impressive streaming numbers are representative of the increased interest in the tournament, than the final social numbers are also impressive. This year’s tournament generated 16.3 million comments across social media outlets, while The National Championship netted more than 3.5 million comments, up 144% over 2012. Combined, these numbers made the 2013 NCAA Tournament the most discussed “TV show” from March 19 through April 8.