MARCH MADNESS ON MOBILE DEVICES TO COME AT A PRICE

In an apparent attempt to avoid the pitfall that ensnared the newspaper business, Time Warner’s Turner Networks will no longer provide the NCAA’s March Madness on Demand for free. Moreover, its broadcast partner in the basketball hoopla, CBS, said that its online coverage of the college basketball tournament will not be available on mobile devices — only on desktop or laptop computers. Anyone wishing to watch the games on smartphones and tablets (and use the interactive features) or watch the online games carried by Turner’s cable outlets will be required to pay a one-time fee of $3.99. Commenting on the CBS/Turner plans, media analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG Research, wrote to clients “While this is a step in the right direction, we still do not like that CBS is streaming their games for free.” Moreover, he wrote, the proposed fee is much too low and ought to have been $20 or more. However, AdWeek commented today (Friday), “CBS and Turner risk alienating an audience that has been conditioned to receive every game of the NCAA tournament whenever they want.”