Streaming Has Revolutionized March Madness for College Students:

March of 2020 has officially begun which means that the best sporting event of the year is right around the corner. The NCAA men's basketball tournament is unquestionably the most exciting, unpredictable, and fun sporting event of the year. When I was in elementary and middle school, I was lucky enough to get two weeks off of school for Spring Break, as opposed to one. This gave me the ability to watch just about every game of the tournament, and fully immerse myself in basketball for 14 days. I remember spending each day of break outside with my best friend, simulating every single game of the bracket by flipping a coin to see which one of us would be each team, and then taking turns shooting "buzzer-beaters" until one of us made one to win the game for our team. This was a process we would repeat until we'd crowned a national champion. We'd then go inside and watch games for the rest of the day, because that was the beauty of being younger.

As I've gotten older and gone off to college, I've found that I haven't been able to enjoy the magic of March as I once was able to. Spring Break has been cut in half to one week, which almost guarantees that school will be in session during tournament games. Contributing even more to that, college classes fluctuate far more than a high school schedule. When I was in school during the later rounds of the tournament, or the conference tournament, I knew that I may have to miss one or two early games, but I'd always be done with school by 3 and sports practices by 5:30. Jump ahead to college and your schedule can be different every single day of the week. During my freshman year, I had a lab section for a visual communications class that met every Thursday from 6:30 until 9:15 each night. This lovely timing for a class meant that during day one of the tournament last year, I was nowhere near a television set while 7-8 games were going on.

So, how did I, an avid college basketball fan, work around this inconvenience? Enter laptops, iPhones, wifi, and streaming services. March Madness has actually become one of the premier case studies for the power of digital streaming services, and that is especially relevant for the current generation of college and high school students.

As the infographic demonstrates, it has never been easier for college students to get around their busy schedules and sneak a little basketball into their daily routines. We represent a huge demographic for the media companies that are buying the rights to the tournament, and with colleges typically being in school at the time, media has had to adapt to make sure they don't take a significant hit when games are airing.

If you've ever felt bad about streaming a game in your Econ lecture, don't. You aren't alone, and your view actually matters to plenty of people outside of that lecture hall. Keep on quietly rooting for your team with your phone under your notebook and, most importantly, enjoy the greatest three weeks in sports. Happy bracket-making.