With the 2016 March Madness college basketball tournament set to begin on March 15, the NCAA has updated its March Madness app with new features for iOS, the fourth-generation Apple TV and Apple Watch.

march-madness-apple-tv-app
The brand new Apple TV app comes with a significant feature for basketball fans: the ability to watch two games side-by-side in a split-screen interface. The feature, which is exclusive to Apple TV, also allows users to switch the audio from both the games, allowing basketball fans to hone in on exciting matches easier than before. Lisa Estrin, NCAA Digital's senior UX lead, told Variety that the Apple TV was the "perfect" platform for the feature.

"We believe Apple TV is the perfect platform to experiment with this and bring the two together in a shared environment," said Lisa Estrin, senior UX lead, NCAA Digital, at a Los Angeles showcase for Apple TV apps hosted by Apple earlier this week. "We look forward to more collaboration in the future."

The iOS version of the app received several new features, including AirPlay and Google Cast support. In addition to multitasking support, iPad users will also see a redesigned version of the app with an "immersive" new experience that features a new game timeline, up-to-the-minute stats and curated highlights from Twitter and Instagram. The March Madness app has also been made available for Apple Watch, allowing users to receive alerts for their favorite teams and quick access to scores and the tournament schedule.

All versions of the NCAA March Madness app require logging in with TV provider credentials to stream games.

NCAA March Madness for iOS is available in the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Update: Games broadcast on CBS cannot be live streamed through the March Madness app even after cable authentication.

Top Rated Comments

69Mustang Avatar
116 months ago
We need to break the back of the cable monopoly, which is exactly this: if you just want to see content, you have to pay their fees. The provider of content should have the ability to collect money from you and the cable companies, or to have an agreement to accept funding by advertising and be free to show their property in whatever venue. Yes, this is exactly what a monopoly is: the pipe says it owns the content which it didn't finance. Uh-uh. In the '40s, the federal government broke up the studio's wholly-owned cinema chains for the same reasons. The MGM Theaters were showing only MGM, and nobody could show anything else. Capitol Theaters, etc., all were owned by the studios. (With some control by the mob, too.) So the guy with the movie house franchise in Chicago had to play the studio's content, no matter if it was a hit or not.
Breathe Swift, breathe. Your post is all over the place and making little sense. Cable companies own a lot of the content so they're more than just a pipe. In many cases they are the content provider as well. Bolded: Your quote assumes content providers can't show their property through whatever avenue they choose. They can. They choose to show their content through avenues that... sit down for this... pay them the most money. It's the reason they create content. They don't do it for your enjoyment. They do it for the money. Same reason Apple sells their products. Same for any company. It's something cord cutters seem to either not understand or completely ignore. In the grand scheme, they offer no value to anyone but themselves. When cord cutters can provide monetary incentive to any content provider they may start to see some of the things on their wish list. Right now they don't bring anything to the table. Why would any company want to deal with small incremental payments when they're currently getting very large payments from advertisers and cable companies.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
2010mini Avatar
116 months ago
We need to break the back of the cable monopoly, which is exactly this: if you just want to see content, you have to pay their fees. The provider of content should have the ability to collect money from you and the cable companies, or to have an agreement to accept funding by advertising and be free to show their property in whatever venue. Yes, this is exactly what a monopoly is: the pipe says it owns the content which it didn't finance. Uh-uh. In the '40s, the federal government broke up the studio's wholly-owned cinema chains for the same reasons. The MGM Theaters were showing only MGM, and nobody could show anything else. Capitol Theaters, etc., all were owned by the studios. (With some control by the mob, too.) So the guy with the movie house franchise in Chicago had to play the studio's content, no matter if it was a hit or not.
Find a way for content owners and distributors to make the same or more money with a new model. Or just pay up.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
General Apple Invites Feature

Apple Launches New 'Invites' App

Tuesday February 4, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple today announced the launch of a new app called "Invites," which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties, graduations, vacations, baby showers, and more. "With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together," said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple's senior director of...
App Store vs EU Feature 2

Apple Says It Doesn't Approve of EU Porn App

Monday February 3, 2025 1:15 pm PST by
Apple does not approve of the "Hot Tub" pornography app that was released for the iPhone in the EU using alternative app distribution, Apple said in a statement to MacRumors. Further, Apple is concerned about the potential user safety risks with a pornography app, and says that it undermines consumer trust in the Apple ecosystem. We are deeply concerned about the safety risks that hardcore...
maxresdefault

An Apple TV Refresh is Coming in 2025 - Here's What You Should Know

Wednesday February 5, 2025 10:17 am PST by
Apple hasn't refreshed the Apple TV since 2022, but rumors suggest that we're finally going to get an update in 2025. We don't have a full picture of what to expect yet, but we have some hints on what's coming. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Updated A-Series Chip The current Apple TV 4K uses the A15 Bionic chip that was in the iPhone 13 lineup, and it's time for...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Raises Monthly AppleCare+ Subscription Price for All iPhones

Tuesday February 4, 2025 9:35 am PST by
Apple this week increased the prices for its monthly AppleCare+ subscription prices for the iPhone, raising the cost by 50 cents for all models in the United States. Standard AppleCare+ for the iPhone 16 models is now priced at $10.49 per month, for example, up from the prior $9.99 per month price. The 50 cent price increase applies to all available AppleCare+ plans for Apple's current...
iCloud General Feature Redux

'Apple Invites' Leaked on iCloud Website

Tuesday February 4, 2025 7:11 am PST by
Update: The new Apple Invites app has officially been announced. The main iCloud.com page has seemingly confirmed Apple's rumored invites tool, which has yet to be officially announced by the company. The page says "Apple Invites" will be an iCloud+ feature:Upgrade to iCloud+ to get more storage, plan events with Apple Invites, and have peace of mind with privacy features like iCloud...
disney

Disney+ Loses 700,000 Subscribers Following Price Increase

Wednesday February 5, 2025 3:34 pm PST by
Disney+ lost 700,000 subscribers worldwide in recent months, according to Disney's earnings results for the first quarter of 2025. Disney said it now has 124.6 million Disney+ subscribers, a decrease of 0.7 million compared to its subscriber numbers in the fourth quarter of 2024. The drop in subscribers comes after Disney+ prices increased in the fall. Disney+ with Ads went from $7.99 to...
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Thursday February 6, 2025 7:31 am PST by
Apple is internally testing iOS 18.3.1 for iPhones, according to our website's analytics logs, which have been a consistently reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released within the next few weeks. iOS 18.3.1 should be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Apple Intelligence notification summaries for news and...