Millions streaming day tourney games at workplace

Tensions were high and hearts were heavy in a conference room on Thursday as attorney Rich Ruohonen sat by a family’s side during a mediation session in a multimillion-dollar wrongful death case.

The 11-hour day included frank and specific discussion about the death of a loved one, and the cold process of establishing compensation for the incident. When the weight of the proceedings in Minneapolis seemed to be crushing the family, Ruohonen had an idea to lighten the atmosphere for a room full of Golden Gophers fans.

“I said, ‘Well the game’s starting and I can get it up on my phone,”’ Ruohonen said, referring to Minnesota’s NCAA Tournament opener against Middle Tennessee State. “So I threw it on my phone and we were watching the game.”

While the specifics of Ruohonen’s experience may be unique, the influx of March Madness into the working world certainly is not. The tourney isn’t just for television anymore.

With so many people not able to sit in front of their flat screens for the day games during the first two days of action, being able to stream games and access content on laptops, smart phones and tablets has become a major endeavor for Turner Sports and CBS.

Mark Johnson, senior vice president of Turner Sports Digital, calls the NCAA Tournament the company’s “crown jewel.” Turner Sports Digital also sees significant consumption for its NBA products, especially during the playoffs. But Johnson says the fact that so much of the action in the first two frenetic days occurs while the majority of Americans are at work sets March Madness apart.

“This event has become a cultural event for the entire country, especially this Thursday and Friday,” Johnson said. “It kind of transcends the world of sports.”

Turner Sports has overseen the digital production of the NCAA Tournament for seven years. Last year, people spent 18.1 million hours consuming video via NCAA March Madness Live, the app that delivers content including game feeds, scores and bracket contests to mobile devices and through the internet, the company said. That was a record number for Turner Digital and 2 percent higher than 2015.

“We’ve definitely seen, from our first to our seventh, this transition to digital and more digital platforms,” Johnson said. “Interestingly enough, the one constant is this Thursday and Friday of the first round, we have so many people at work that want to consume this content and may not be in front of or near a TV. So we give them the opportunity to pull up the games, the scores, follow the bracket, all of that from multiple devices.”

The digital audience has grown dramatically over each of Turner Sports’ seven years, from 2.6 million total viewers in 2012 to 3.7 million last year.

On Thursday, NCAA March Madness Live garnered 29 million live video starts.