DirecTV snags a few more years of CBS March Madness, CSTV

DIRECTV and CBS Corporation reached a multi-year agreement in which DIRECTV will continue to be the premier national television source for NCAA out-of-market games during CBS Sports’ broadcast of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship and will also deliver CSTV to more gthan 8 million subscribers.

DIRECTV customers purchasing the NCAA MEGA MARCH MADNESS package will receive up to 37 out-of-market CBS-produced broadcasts, including those in High Definition, from the first three rounds of the championship. The package allows DIRECTV customers the opportunity to see all 64 games of the NCAA tournament. The programming on the satellite service will be supplemental to CBS’ broadcast of the games, and marks an extension to a previous agreement the two companies have had over satellite broadcasts of NCAA games.

At the same time, DIRECTV announced that CBS’s CSTV is now available to more than 8 million DIRECTV customers. CSTV, the experts in college sports and leading provider of college sports across multiple media platforms, now has a total household reach of more than 20 million homes nationally. DIRECTV was CSTV’s first affiliate.

“From its inception, exclusive sports programming has set DIRECTV apart as the leading multi-channel provider of the world’s most important and exciting sporting events,” said Chase Carey, President and CEO, DIRECTV, Inc. “The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is one of those unique events that captures the attention of sports fans throughout the country and DIRECTV will bring our customers every upset, buzzer beater and Cinderella story.”

“We continue to monetize our content across many of our programming genres, including Sports, and this latest agreement with our partners at DIRECTV is yet another example,” said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation. “We’re not only generating new revenues through the NCAA satellite package, but by offering CSTV to more than 8 million DIRECTV customers, we’ve significantly expanded its reach.”

“I’m very pleased to extend our agreement with DIRECTV over the transmission of out-of-market NCAA games, and making CSTV available to more DIRECTV customers,” said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. “DIRECTV has been a superb partner in providing satellite carriage of the NCAA championship, which has become an important component to our overall coverage, and we look forward to working with them for many more years to come.”

“We’re significantly increasing our household reach with CSTV and gaining exposure to millions more TV viewers,” said Brian Bedol, President and CEO, CSTV. “In just the past year we’ve made important strides in increasing our carriage with the nation’s cable and satellite providers, and that’s helped us develop a very strong audience of college sports fans from coast to coast.”

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