CBS to offer HD highlights of March Madness on VOD

[Skaggs]

CBS Streaming March Madness On-Demand and in HD

CBS Sports, CBS College Sports Network to Produce Highlights from 63 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament Games

By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/25/2008 6:13:00 PM



CBS is teaming up with a number of cable operators to stream HD video-on-demand content from the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament.

CBS Sports and CBS College Sports Network (currently CSTV) will produce highlight packages for 63 tournament games, beginning with the first round Thursday, March 20. The network will also produce NCAA March Madness Highlights, which will recap the day’s action in college basketball, as well as historical vignettes, dubbed NCAA March Madness Memories. The clip packages will be available free-of-charge through participating cable operators’ VOD platforms.

“Video-on-demand and high-definition content are top priorities for MSOs,” CBS Sports executive vice president and executive producer Tony Petitti said in a statement. “CBS College Sports Network and CBS Sports are delivering exclusive, compelling programming that has never been available before, as well as leading the way in serving fans with more options, access and control. We’re thrilled that operators are taking advantage of the opportunity to provide their customers with the coverage they crave for the NCAA Tournament.”

Comcast and Bresnan Communications are the first cable operators to carry the March Madness VOD programming.

[Skaggs]

No word from Albany TWC if they will be providing this service or not. The tournament starts in 6 days.

[scott]

According to TW-Albany's site, they are offering highlights of all 63 games on demand, and in HD on 1801 (for SD, it's 1074).
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Get the Best Action of all 63 games from this year’s Big Dance on NCAA March Madness Highlights on Sports On Demand or in HD on HD Showcase On Demand!

Available On Demand March 20 – April 14

Tune to channel 1074 or HD channel 1801

Highlights of every tournament game
Postgame interviews
Press conferences
Great moments in March Madness history
And more!

ETA: I was just checking something on 1801 and noticed they already have some classic NCAA tourney highlights available. Not the ideal presentation - the video is in a 4x3 frame in the middle of an HD graphic, with some guy narrating the clips.

[Skaggs]

I sent an email to TWC on Friday, March 14, 2008:

From: [e-mail]
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 9:10 AM
To: AlbanyHDTV
Subject: TWC Submission Confirmation

Please do not reply to this E-mail.
To enter your questions or comments, please go to help.twalbany.com/reply.php

Thanks for your input, AlbanyHDTV! A Time Warner Cable representative has received notification regarding your comments. Based on our current volume, you should receive a response within a few business days. Thank you for being a Time Warner Cable customer.
Here is a copy of your inquiry:
Name: AlbanyHDTV

Phone: 518-XXX-XXXX

Subject: Cable TV Troubleshooting

Comments: Will Albany TWC offer CBS' March Madness On Demand in HD? More info here: www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6535259.html

They never sent me a reply. Nice customer service!

Although, I'm happy to see they will have the March Madness VOD in HD.