March Madness App Opens With Record 22.5M Live Streams

The NCAA March Madness Live app delivered a record 22.5 million live video streams, equal to  4.9 million live hours of video consumption for Thursday’s tournament openers, according to Turner Sports, which is managing the app.

Turner Sports, which is managing the app, said live video consumption is up 12% over 2015.

Thursday’s live streaming coverage of Duke vs. UNC Wilmington netted 5.5 million live video streams, setting a record for  an individual game during the tournament.

Thursday’s NCAA Tournament coverage also generated 1.6 million video views across “official” Facebook and Twitter social channels for March Madness, up 62% over last year, Turner Sports said, citing data from Conviva, a company that provides online video-optimization technology.

NCAA March Madness Live, developed in partnership between the NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports, is being offered on a record 12 platforms, including the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku players and Roku TVs, Amazon Fire tablets, iOS and Android mobile devices, Windows handsets, Web browsers, and the Apple Watch.  

Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT-TV service, also touted streaming numbers in the early phases of the tournament, thanks in large part to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock’s double overtime upset win over Purdue.