More than 1.5 million hits were recorded last week among March Madness fans watching the opening day of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament live via internet through CBS SportsLine.
When Sweet 16 action resumes Thursday evening, web viewers had better get there early. (Games are streamed free, but advance sign-up is required here.) Reports of problems logging on and staying logged on circulated last week after more than 800,000 people registered to access the games, either streamed live or in later full game replays (and highlight reels).
The games seem to stream fine to both PC and Mac while watching replays, when usage is bound to be lower. (And no, you won’t avoid the ads. They’re archived, too. Trying to fast-forward through them only pauses the stream.) During live game play, some users get left “waiting in line” when hundreds of thousands try simultaneously to join the online audience.
You will need a broadband connection to see anything approaching smooth TV video; the games are streamed at 450 Kbps. Dial-up users can access an audio feed. (Check minimum system requirements here.) The site also features a live-updating scoreboard to track all the action.