For a long time, official “TV Everywhere” apps didn’t do the job. Users would struggle through an authentication process only to find that the promise of livestreams and full episodes were really just a bunch of clips. Well, the NCAA, with its March Madness broadcast partners, bucked that trend earlier than most and have consistently produced one of the most gratifying live video experiences for sports fans.
In addition to the ability to livestream every tournament game, the app includes robust social features, on-demand video content from years past, bracket help, and the classic ‘Boss Button.’
For more on this year’s version of the platform, we spoke with Hania Poole, Sr. Director, Product Management and Operations, March Madness Live:
Lost Remote: March Madness Live has always been ahead of the game in terms of TV Everywhere capabilities. How will the product expand upon that this year?
Hania Poole: We have expanded the ability to have more users pre-authenticated via their home modems. This allows for an easier and more seamless experience and the user doesn’t need to login with their username and password to access unlimited live video within the products. As a reminder, our fans will be able to have a preview period, like last year, before having to authenticate.
LR: Do you anticipate that March Madness streaming records will continue to be broken?
Poole: We continue to see more live sports consumption on digital devices, specifically mobile. So we expect to see growth in both audience and live streams.
LR: How does March Madness Live cater to casual fans and die-hards alike?
Poole: For the die-hards, we have the live video stream of every game and team and player stats for each match-up. In addition, we added a new “Teams” section this year with team-specific video, a season snapshot, stats and roster information for each team in the NCAA Tournament. We also added a new section of content called “Featured” that gives die-hards more rich VOD content like Classic Moments, Game Recaps, in-depth looks at specific teams, and matchup analyses, to name a few.
For the casual fans, we have a robust social experience that gives them the best highlights, tweets and Instagram photos. We also have the classic “Boss Button” that allows fans to hide their March Madness fandom from anyone who might be watching. In our bracket game, also accessed from the March Madness experiences, a casual fan can get help picking their bracket with an “Auto-Complete” feature so they aren’t intimidated by picking all of the games.
LR: What’s your favorite March Madness Live feature?
Poole: Without doubt, it’s live video. The quality is great and we did something this year to enhance that experience even more: we added an inline video player to our smartphone platforms that plays the video in portrait view. With the increase in screen size on smartphones, it seemed like the logical next step for live video viewing. And it looks fantastic.
LR: What are some March Madness social and digital initiatives that you can share with us?
Poole: Within the apps, I mentioned the social features inside the CokeZero Social Arena, that help create a great companion experience for the fan. In addition to that, we distribute real-time highlights via Twitter and Facebook, keeping fans updated on social platforms. New this year, we launched a NCAA March Madness YouTube channel which features in-game highlights, video recaps, press conferences and more.
