[opendtv] Turner Sets TVE Press for NCAA March Madness Live | Multichannel
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2015 10:52:41 -0400
http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/turner-ready-march-madness-live-tve-press/388859
Turner Sets TVE Press for NCAA March Madness Live
The field of 68 has been set, and tourney games and flanking content on NCAA
March Madness Live is available to nearly 100 million pay video subscribers via
TV Everywhere access throughout the event.
All 67 games of the 2015 tourney – Kentucky is seeking to become the first
men’s basketball team to go undefeated since Indiana accomplished the feat
during the 1975-76 season – plus a wealth of content, including archival and
2015 tournament highlights can be streamed over this year’s enhanced version of
the NCAA March Madness Live app. Developed in partnership with Turner Sports,
CBS Sports and the NCAA, the platform can be accessed from
www.ncaa.com/marchmadness, www.CBSSports.com, www.bleacherreport.com, CBS
Sports App, Bleacher Report’s Team Stream, the App Store, the Amazon App Store,
Windows Store and Google Play.
Although the 22 contests airing on CBS, including the national championship
game on April 6 from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, are accessible to all,
the remaining contests, including the national semifinals on April 4, air on
Turner Broadcasting-owned services TBS, TNT and truTV.
Subscribers can gain TV Everywhere access to the contests and content on
computers, laptops, tablets and mobile devices by verifying their video
subscriptions.
Turner has one of the most robust TVE offerings among the nation’s programmers
with deals covering 86 million homes. That total reaches the 99 million mark or
thereabouts with the addition of Time Warner Cable subscribers, as Turner has
once again reached an interim agreement with the nation’s second-largest MSO
during the Madness of March (and early April).
“TV Everywhere continues to be one of the most important initiatives in our
industry,” said Coleman Breland, president of Turner Network Sales, the
domestic distribution, sales and marketing arm of Turner Broadcasting System.
“Offering our content to viewers wherever and whenever is an incredible value
to both the consumers and importantly, to our distribution partners.”
Heading into the 2014 tournament, Turner Broadcasting counted 160 distribution
partners for TVE that reached some 85 million homes. Over the course of the
past year, Turner’s TVE platform has rolled out on a number of smaller
distributors, via its master agreement with the National Cable Television
Cooperative, and its TVE footprint now extends to 320 affiliates and over 86
million homes.
“It’s imperative that we not only continue to offer these on-demand services
but that we create robust, companion viewing experiences like March Madness
live which enhances the TV experience for consumers while providing added value
to their existing TV subscription,” said Coleman.
With the expanded footprint and consumers’ increasingly familiarity with TVE,
tentpole events like March Madness and the Olympics are key authentication
drivers.
Like last year, users will once again have a three-hour preview per device
before they must authenticate their subscriptions. Turner Broadcasting will
regularly run messaging encouraging verification during those periods.
As such, Turner Broadcasting officials are optimistic that sign-up will grow
and stoke NCAA March Madness Live usage.
Last year, NCAA March Madness Live generated a record 69.7 million live video
streams, a 42% jump from the 2013 event, according to Conviva data. All told,
there was a record 15 million hours of live video streaming, 7% more than the
prior year. Much of the growth came via mobile – tablets and smartphones – as
streams leaped 71% on these devices during the tourney NCAA tournament, with
streaming hours surging 38%.
Those who logged on via TVE were much more engaged with the content. According
to Turner officials citing Conviva data, TVE users streamed an average of 67%
more minutes than those who weren’t logged in. Live streams on logged-in
mobile devices accounted for 52% of TVE play during the 2014 tournament.
Overall, TVE usages for last year’s version of March Madness climbed 85% in
live streams and 72% in hours spent viewing.
Those gains have once again led to NCAA March Madness Live selling out its
inventory for the 2015 event. NCAA corporate champions AT&T, Capital One and
Coke Zero are the co-presenting sponsors of the platform.
Moreover, Buick, Capital One and Coke Zero are sponsoring the app for iPhone
and iPad, while AT&T, Capital One and Infiniti are backing the Android version.
AT&T is also the presenting sponsor for the Windows app. Buick, Infiniti and LG
Electronics are NCAA corporate partners.
“Our TV Everywhere strategy is designed to confront the challenges of an
evolving media universe and have the ability to deliver branded video content
that can be enjoyed anytime, anywhere and on any device by consumers,” said
Coleman, “while also meeting the business needs of our advertising and
distribution partners.”
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