NCAA March Madness Live, providing sports fans with direct access to all 67 games and more than 150 hours of live streaming coverage of the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, is available Thursday on the Amazon Appstore for Android and Kindle Fire tablets -- the first time the app is available on those platforms -- along with the previously announced Apple App Store, Google Play and Windows Store. Fans can download the app and log in with their user name and password to verify their TV subscription and be ready when the game action tips off March 18.
Produced by Turner Sports in partnership with the NCAA and CBS Sports, NCAA March Madness Live is the ultimate digital destination for streaming video, highlights, stats, news and social engagement throughout the entire Championship, starting with the NCAA Selection Sunday on March 16 and continuing through the Final Four national semifinals and national championship game on April 5-7 from North Texas.
This year’s Final Four semifinals will air on TBS, marking the first time in the event’s 76-year history the event will be televised on cable. It also will be the first time the Final Four is presented across three networks with the traditional game coverage on TBS and “teamcasts” or team-specific telecasts offered on TNT and truTV. NCAA March Madness Live will offer live streaming of the game from all three vantage points. The national championship game will be broadcast on CBS for the 33rd consecutive year.
In support of the industry-wide TV Everywhere initiative -- which gives TV customers access to live programming wherever and whenever they want to watch it as part of their underlying television subscription -- consumers will have access to all games on TNT, TBS and truTV on the digital device of their choice by logging in with their user name and password given to them by their TV service provider. As an added feature, NCAA March Madness Live will offer a temporary preview period giving fans access to live game streaming before log in is required. All games broadcast on CBS will not require log in.
For more information on how to log in to NCAA March Madness Live, fans can follow these easy steps:
1. Go to www.ncaa.com/marchmadness or download the app via your Amazon Kindle Fire, iOS, Android, or Windows 8 device
2. Click on the “Select Service Provider” tab
3. Select your TV service provider
4. Enter your username and password that corresponds with the account
5. Enjoy the Madness!
For customers who do not have their username and password readily available, they can contact their TV service provider to receive one.
This year’s NCAA March Madness Live offers several new enhancements including:
• Expansion to new devices -- NCAA March Madness Live will be available on more devices than ever before including the Amazon Appstore for Android and Kindle Fire tablets for the first time, along with the previously announced iPhone, iPad, Android 4.0+ operating system, Windows 8.1 and the Windows Phone 8 operating system.
• New Bracket Layout -- A completely new interface for smartphones and tablets, including more views and functionality and the ability to zoom in on a particular matchup, go directly to live game coverage or view the upcoming schedule with times and broadcast networks.
• Capital One NCAA March Madness Bracket Challenge -- The official bracket game of March Madness including new designs and feature enhancements on desktop, smartphones and tablets, along with expanded social functionality across all devices will allow 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 tweets, view Instagram photos and, for the first time, Vine videos. Fans can also participate in chats and keep a pulse on all the key moments of every game. Fans can participate in the social commentary by using the hashtag #marchmadness.
• GameCenter -- Redesigned this year, GameCenter serves as a destination for live game streaming, pre-game matchup analysis, live in-game stats, key social moments and fan chat.
• TV Schedule -- New this year, TV schedule grids will be available digitally to allow fans to plan their day around the championship schedule. The programming guide -- easily accessible via the game schedule or bracket -- provides the round, date, time and network for each game.
• Tournament News -- For the first time, fans will have direct access to the latest tournament news and updates as well as additional information each day throughout the championship -- directly via NCAA March Madness Live.
Additionally, NCAA March Madness Live will once again provide video highlights, full game replays and excitement alerts, as well as fan-favorite features including live game scoring, real-time Championship brackets, personal channel lineup features, real-time game alerts for their favorite school and the Boss Button, presented by Buick. Fans will have direct access to live radio broadcasts, courtesy of Westwood One, for all 67 games across the collection of digital products. Fans also can follow the live game action via multiple social channels including Facebook (NCAA Men’s Basketball March Madness), Twitter (@MarchMadness, @MarchMadnessTV), Instagram (marchmadness) and Vine. Using the hashtag #marchmadness, fans can join in the conversation with analysts, celebrities, rivals and other team enthusiasts.
