After two weeks of very weighty blogs addressing the six primary benefits of hosted Unified Communications and the value they deliver to businesses, I thought something lighter was in order. Other than the Super Bowl, March Madness is my favorite time of the year for sports. I am a graduate of Michigan State (Go Spartans), a Virginian (Go Cavaliers and the ACC) and a longtime fan of UNC (Go Tar Heels). Yet, with all of these possible teams to follow, doing so has always been difficult due to work and the way television favors showing games to regional markets. However, this year is different.

The NCAA has collaborated with CBS and Turner Sports to provide unlimited live streaming over the web, smartphones and tablets. This is a solid acknowledgement of the need to support mobility and its potential to draw huge new audiences for daytime viewing (that includes me). If you are a Pay TV subscriber, you need to download the app (App Store, Google Play and Windows Store), login and provide your pay TV service information. You will then be able to stream live the games playing on TBS, TNT and truTV. Incredibly, games broadcast by CBS will not require registration to view in this manner (Truly March Madness).

A recent study of TV viewing in the UK showed that for the first time people viewed online content more than they watched television. And in the U.S. with smartphone penetration topping 70% and tablet users exceeding 30%, there is a large and growing market for this streaming of live media such as this programming from the NCAA and other sports that attract large followings.

For those of you that have IT departments that may block your access, this may be the one time of year to request a pass (I would). Of course, conducting business must be priority but if the capacity is there, then the next week or so would be a good time to open up access.

Now that you know how to watch the games good luck with that billion dollar bracket. Make that 1:92 quintillion chance count and make Quicken Loans and Warren Buffett pay.

Good luck and enjoy watching the Madness!