Birmingham, AL March 14, 2008 – CBS Sports has added eleven additional video providers to deliver first-of-its-kind Video On Demand content dedicated to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. Bright House Networks (BHN) has reached an agreement with CBS to be a part of this NCAA March Madness® programming offer. CBS Sports and CBS College Sports Network (formerly CSTV) will produce customized highlights of the 63 tournament games from the first round to the Championship game plus historical NCAA March Madness vignettes that will be available for free to Video on Demand customers nationwide.
The comprehensive content will be available in standard definition in Birmingham on Sports On Demand, Channel 1083. High definition content will be available on Channel 679, HD Showcase On Demand. Both channels' March Madness content will be distributed through BHN's VOD platform, providing fans with complete coverage of all the March Madness action. The VOD programming includes NCAA March Madness Highlights, a daily recap of every game featuring extensive highlights along with select post game interviews and team press conferences. NCAA March Madness Highlights will be made available daily, giving fans immediate access to 63 tournament contests and the ability to search for specific games.
"Given the competitive landscape video providers face, they must 'wow' their subscribers. Virtually every major video distributor is participating in this offering and they agree NCAA March Madness Highlights is the perfect marriage of technology and content," said Bob Rose, Executive Vice President, Distribution CBS College Sports Network. "There are millions of fans who only have five minutes of free time, and now have a chance to watch the highlights they crave when and how they want."
"We are thrilled to offer BHN's customers the best Highlights of the NCAA basketball tournament On Demand and in High-Definition," said
Karen Broach, BHN Birmingham Division President. "Few events generate the passion and excitement of March
Madness, so we are pleased to give our customers something they will truly value, particularly with the Men's Final Four Semifinal and Championship games in San Antonio this year. "
The VOD content also features fully-produced NCAA March Madness Memories. Each program will include moments from 25 of the greatest games from previous NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships, pulled from archived NCAA game and related footage. NCAA March Madness Memories will be available to customers beginning March 16th. In addition a post-tournament highlight show will be available following the 2008 Men's Final Four® Semifinal and National Championship games.
About the NCAA
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Divisions I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.
The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions - AT&T, Coca-Cola and Pontiac - and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners - DiGiorno, Enterprise, The Hartford, Lowe's, Sheraton and State Farm.
About Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is the nation’s 6th largest MSO with over 2 million customers in several large markets including Bakersfield, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; Orlando, Florida (Central Florida Division) and Tampa Bay, Florida along with several other smaller systems in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The high-growth Tampa/Central Florida markets are contiguous and form one of the country’s largest cable clusters.
Bright House Networks customers have Digital Phone, high-speed data (HSD), Video-on-Demand (VOD), Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD), High Definition Television (HDTV) and the immensely popular, Digital Video Recorders (DVR) available to them. Since its introduction, HDTV has achieved impressive acceptance with Bright House Networks customers who are equipped to receive the signals.
Exceptional customer service is the company’s cornerstone of its business and top priority across all operating units. Bright House Networks local, customer service centers are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, including holidays. Public affairs, social responsibility and community involvement continue as major initiatives for the company as an ongoing commitment to the families and communities Bright House Networks serves. This includes long-term commitments to education and to what matters in the lives of Bright House Networks communities.
NCAA, Final Four and March Madness are trademarks owned or licensed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
# # #
|
