Over that same period, the number of subscribers to live TV streaming services, or virtual MVPDs, increased from fewer than 2 million to nearly 12 million, according to MoffettNathanson. This year, 42 percent of U.S. adults planning to watch the tournament told Morning Consult they plan to use a virtual MVPD, such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV or fuboTV, up from 37 percent last year.
In addition to airing on the CBS broadcast network and three AT&T-owned cable channels, tournament games will be available via March Madness Live, a digital platform that launched in 2003 as March Madness on Demand and is celebrating its 10th tournament under Turner’s operation. Games airing on CBS are free to watch on March Madness Live, while games airing on TNT, TBS and TruTV require users to authenticate with their pay-TV credentials.
This year, 19 percent of U.S. adults planning to watch some of the tournament said they expect to utilize March Madness Live, down from 38 percent in 2017 and about even with last year. CBS and Turner said, however, that the platform set streaming records in 2019.
Hania Poole, Turner’s senior vice president of digital, said the proliferation of virtual MVPDs hasn’t caused March Madness Live traffic to dip in recent years. She added that the inclusion of second screen features has made the app useful even for those watching games on linear TV or virtual MVPDs, allowing them to watch multiple games at a time and engage with interactive elements.
“We haven't seen the decline we thought we would see as a competitive set across the board,” Poole said. “I'd like to give us credit: We continue to differentiate our experience massively, including a live bracket game and Bracket IQ, which tries to help you understand who you should push for based on your bracket.”
Since the last time the tournament took place, both ViacomCBS and AT&T have unveiled new subscription streaming services. Games airing on CBS will also be available on the recently renamed Paramount+, but games on the Turner channels will not be available to stream on the AT&T-owned HBO Max, at least for now.
Going forward, the two media conglomerates could seek to leverage their tournament streaming rights to attract new users to their subscription services by making them exclusive to those platforms, something Poole said is “being contemplated for HBO Max,” though no decisions have been made.
ncG1vNJzZmiooqR7rrvRp6Cnn5Oku7TBy61lnKedZK6zwMico56rX6i1qrLTrGSipl2Wuqa%2ByJyYp6tdoq6zr8dmpJqcnprAtHnVopywnaKotaq8jKmjmqajYrK5scypo6KeqWK5qrrEmqlmrKaoeqWxwqWgp50%3D