CBS To Offer March Madness Free Online

From the LA Times comes this report which surely will make basketball fans happy.

The TV network plans to make all early-round games from the NCAA basketball tournament, known as March Madness, available for free on the Internet. When the tournament gets into full swing March 16, it will mark the first time a major broadcaster has shifted such an important programming franchise onto the Web without charging a subscription fee.

The March Madness on Demand service will black out local games -- plus the final three rounds of the tournament, when only one game is played at a time -- to avoid direct competition with CBS affiliates.

Broadband capacity will limit the Web audience to a few hundred thousand viewers at a time.

Of course, web-specific advertising will be inserted into the online broadcasts. Nevertheless, it's free and I think that's better than a sharp stick in the eye.

Tag: March Madness