Alumni and fans alike will be able to purchase next-day access to condensed men’s college basketball broadcasts from iTunes for playback on the computer or a video iPod.
A deal between CBS and Apple offers the ultimate scenario for one-upmanship during the many office pools that track the NCAA tourney, known as March Madness to its fans. CBS announced in a statement all the tournament games will be available through iTunes for $1.99 each.
The Final Four games, which includes the semifinals and the championship, will be available as full-length downloadable broadcasts. CBS plans to offer the rest of the games in condensed versions. Hardcore fans can purchase access to every game with a $19.99 “Season Pass” too; that provides the condensed versions of all 63 tournament games.
The day after each game airs, iTunes will place the option to download it into the customer’s download queue and send an email alerting them the highlights are now available. This is where the one-upmanship can come into play.
Someone with a video iPod and a broadcast of an upset game that only he or she picked in the office pool can share the exhilarating moment with the co-workers. Video iPod owners who decide to utilize their devices in this fashion should familiarize themselves with Apple’s warranty and repair policies, just in case.
For the fan who wants more than just the 2006 games, CBS College Sports TV and the Thought Equity stock footage site plan to make a variety of classic moments from past tournament games available through iTunes:
Among those games are Duke’s win over Kentucky in 1992 on Christian Laettner’s last-second shot in the regional final; Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State team that shocked Houston to win the 1983 NCAA Championship; North Carolina’s victory over Georgetown from Michael Jordan’s game-winning basket in 1982 to win the championship title; and Syracuse’s freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony leading his team over Kansas to its first ever championship title in 2003.
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David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
