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March Madness Online: Free, if You Have a Cable Contract

February 21, 2013 by

Once again, the epic sporting event known as March Madness, aka the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, will be available online for free… as long as you have a cable contract that includes the Turner channels.

HERE IS THE LINK TO MARCH MADNESS ONLINE.

Broadcast by both CBS and the Turner cabal of TNT, TBS and truTV, the tournament is probably the biggest online sports time-waster, given that the balance of games take place during the day on Thursday and Friday, March 21 and 22 this year. For the second year, all 67 games will be on TV, though sometimes that requires the challenge of actually finding the truTV channel on your cable box.

For online watchers, there will be the usual cable-system confirmation, which should allow you to watch on “the digital device of your choice,” according to the press release. There will also be a “preview option,” which will allow for up to four hours of online viewing for free — good if your team is a one and done.

Here’s some more goodness from the official press release:

This year’s NCAA March Madness Live® product offers several enhancements including:

— Redesigned for optimization across platforms – With improved navigation, NCAA March Madness Live® will have a completely new look and feel while also providing users with the same levels of access and a consistent user experience across all devices
— Available on new devices – NCAA March Madness Live® will be available on more devices than ever before including smart phones and tablets with the Android 4.0+ operating system, the iPhone 5 and iPad mini
— Capital One NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge – The official bracket game of March Madness includes new designs and feature enhancements on smart phones and tablets, along with expanded social functionality across all devices allowing fans to join groups, share brackets and chat with friends and other passionate fans via Facebook
— Coke Zero NCAA March Madness Social Arena – A forum to extend the conversation surrounding all of the games within NCAA March Madness Live® products, fans can follow game and tournament tweets, participate in fan chats, watch the games and keep a pulse on all the key moments of every game via the Coke Zero NCAA March Madness Social Arena. Fans can participate in the social commentary by using the hashtag #marchmadness

Additionally, NCAA March Madness Live® will once again provide video highlights, full game replays and real-time game alerts, as well as fan-favorite features, including live game scoring, real-time tournament brackets, personal channel lineup features, live stats, live social companion views and the return of the “Boss Button.” Fans will have direct access to live radio broadcasts, courtesy of Westwood One/Dial Global Radio Network, for all 67 games across the collection of digital products.

Sounds good to us… may the best bracket win!

Filed Under: Basketball, CBS Sports, NCAA Hoops, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

PlayUp Hosts ‘Hangout Rooms’ with Former NCAA Stars Williams, Horford, Knight

April 2, 2012 by

If you’re looking to get some top-level NCAA insight in advance of tonight’s men’s championship game (starts at 8 p.m. Eastern), fan interaction app PlayUp is hosting “hangout rooms” with former NCAA stars Jay Williams, Brandon Knight and Al Horford. By using the free downloadable PlayUp app you can join the former college hoopsters for in-game interaction, social media style.

I always thought Horford and his Gators teams were among the best tournament teams ever — not necessarily great players but together in a one-and-done format they seemed unstoppable. Will have to stop by his PlayUp room tonight to see what he thinks of this year’s Kentucky team.

Anyone picking the Jayhawks in an upset? If so you might want to see what Brandon Knight has to say. (If you don’t have the PlayUp app installed yet you can get it here.)

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, NCAA Hoops, PlayUp, Sports Social Media Tagged With: ,

NCAA Sweet Sixteen: TV and Online Viewing Guide

March 22, 2012 by

Now that the craziness of the first week is over, it’s Sweet Sixteen time — in my mind one of the best weekends of college hoops because A) the teams playing the best are the only ones left and B) the pressure increases exponentially with every game. Even if your bracket went to hell (and yes I am proud of calling the Duke exit) you can still have fun watching the games. Here’s our guide for TV and online coverage for Thursday and Friday:

(all times Eastern)
Thursday March 22
7:15 p.m. — Wisconsin vs. Syrcause, CBS
7:47 p.m. — Louisville vs. Michigan State, TBS
9:45 p.m. — Cincinnati vs. Ohio State, CBS
10:17 p.m. — Florida vs. Marquette, TBS

Friday March 23
7:15 p.m. — Baylor (the unforgiving upsetters of Colorado) vs. Xavier, CBS
7:47 p.m. — Ohio vs. North Carolina, TBS
9:45 p.m. — Indiana vs. Kentucky, CBS
10:17 p.m. — North Carolina State vs. Kansas, TBS

Remember: All games being broadcast live are also available live online at the respective network’s website. If you have a cable subscription, you can watch for free. If you want to follow on a mobile device you can download the March Madness app and pay $3.99 if you haven’t already.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, NCAA Hoops, NCAA.com, Turner Sports Tagged With: , ,

Where to Watch the NCAA Tourney, TV or Online

March 15, 2012 by

Here’s the Mobile Sports Report quick guide to watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, either on TV or online.

TV: The games will be broadcast on either CBS, or on one of the Turner cable channels — TNT, TBS, and something called TruTV (channel 65 here on Comcast in the Bay area). You need to check a schedule to see which game is on which network. We refer you to this excellent Deadspin post which has all Thursday and Friday games listed.

Online: Here is where it gets confusing. You can watch all CBS broadcast games for free at CBSSports.com, and Turner broadcasts for free at the Turner websites, as long as you are a cable subscriber. When you click “watch now” you should get a screen like the one to the left asking you to select your cable provider to log in with your cable subscription credentials. Good to check these before leaving for work.

Note: The free online games are ONLY the games being broadcast at the time. If you want to watch something else, you need to get the March Madness app for $3.99.

If you want to watch on a phone or tablet you need to pay $3.99 for the March Madness app, which you only need to pay once and then can watch on multiple devices with the login you create.

COMCAST CUSTOMERS: Here’s a handy schedule of all the games available for streaming. HT to Todd Spangler at Multichannel News for the link.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, NCAA Hoops, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports Tagged With: ,

Four Signs Your Bracket Has Gone to Hell

March 14, 2012 by

I like the Funny or Die Tournament Challenge Challenged video, even if I don’t know who all the stars are in it. It’s embedded below, so have a watch. Before that though, I can offer four signs that your bracket has gone to hell. Today is Wednesday, when all brackets are shiny and clean. But tomorrow, the carnage starts. And here are some of the reasons why:

1. “Your Team” went one-and-done. Thanks to Colorado’s miracle run at the Pac-12 tournament this year, I am set up for exactly this kind of failure. Had CU not won the tourney, they wouldn’t have been anywhere near the Big Dance. Now they’re in — and fans like myself are considering it reasonable to believe that the Buffs can win not just one, but two games! Here we go! Our boys will shock the world! No, they won’t. Vegas loves you, superfan.

2. Your “upset special” for the Final Four… just got upset. It’s cool to pick a 2 or 3 seed to not just win their regional, but to go all the way to the title game. Butler! you say. Butler two years in a row! you say. I say, there’s a reason for teams being a No. 1 seed. And even if a lower seed does make the move — odds are it won’t be the one you picked.

3. You picked Duke. Even though the Blue Devils are a perennial title threat… it’s a North Carolina year this year. Sorry.

4. Your team’s NBA prospect center apparently forgot to go to class. Shouldn’t they make a rule that tells us about things like this before the seedings come out?

Anyway, enjoy the professional humor below.

Filed Under: ESPN, NCAA Hoops Tagged With: ,

Tweet for Cash: Belmont Bruins Have an NCAA Twitter Contest

March 13, 2012 by

I am guessing you will want to be living in the Nashville area or be a Belmont alum to be interested — but the 14 seed Belmont Bruins are celebrating their return to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament with a Twitter contest that will give tickets and other schwag worth $300 to the fan who “produces the most creative (as well as clean and positive) Tweet while Belmont is alive in the NCAA tournament.”

Since the 27-7 Bruins drew traditional powerhouse Georgetown in a Friday opener, you might want to sharpen up those keyboard skills and get tweetin’ since Belmont may be a one-and-done. Rules? You gotta follow the Belmont Twitter account, @BelmontMBB, and include the hashtag #itsbruintime to enter. More rules and prize information available here. I am pretty sure I have the Bruins going out quickly in my bracket, but maybe you know better?

Filed Under: NCAA Hoops, Twitter Tagged With: , ,
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