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Key takeaways:
– The most successful sports properties identify the elements of their product that naturally resonate with modern digital consumption habits.
– Formats built around unpredictability, storytelling, and must-see moments translate especially well to digital platforms and younger audiences.
– AI-powered content creation platforms help rights holders scale those moments into a continuous stream of short-form content across channels.
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One of the biggest talking points in the run-up to March Madness this year has been expansion. Ever since NCAA president Charlie Baker told reporters in late February that he would like to see the tournament expand, pundits, fans, and people in college hoops have voiced their (mostly negative) opinions about the potential move. Even former Duke coach, the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, chimed in, saying, “I don’t think you mess with something that’s gold.”
Whether or not the NCAA Tournament expands at some point, chances are it will still be treated as a national treasure in the US. The reason is simple. Not only has March Madness been a celebrated sporting event since the 1970s, but three main attributes make it uniquely equipped to thrive in the digital era. These attributes are:
1. It attracts younger audiences
The NCAA tournament is built on the emotional connection between fans and their alma mater. These connections tend to be strongest in the first years after graduation, which explains why 68% of US adults aged 18-34 planned to follow at least one NCAA tournament (men’s or women’s) in 2025, according to data from market research firm The Harris Poll.
Those fans are interested in both the games and the spectacle around them. Last year, popular messaging app Snapchat decided to capitalize on that by providing pregame, postgame, and locker room content from March Madness. The result: significant growth in Snapchat’s brand familiarity and momentum among NCAA basketball fans.
2. Gamification and betting are baked into the experience
Every March, millions of people across the US fill out NCAA tournament brackets in office betting pools. The tradition is thought to have started in a Staten Island bar in 1977, but only in the mid-1980s, when March Madness expanded from 53 to 64 teams, did bracketology become a cultural phenomenon, giving fans a rooting interest in games and spawning an entire industry designed to help people beat their coworkers.
In recent years, with the ongoing legalization of sports betting in the US, wagering on March Madness games has skyrocketed. According to data from marketing analytics company AppsFlyer and market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the NCAA Tournament drives sharp shifts in install rates and usage of betting apps among Americans. Last year, for example, apps like FanDuel and DraftKings had an engagement rate of 95% on the first day of the tournament.
Additional findings include:
– The first two weeks of the 2025 tournament saw a 130% increase in new installs of sports betting apps, compared to the prior two weeks.
– During the first two weekends of the 2025 tournament, total sessions were up 20%, and spend was 60% higher than the two weeks that preceded March Madness.
– Time spent on FanDuel’s and DraftKings’ apps increased 40% during the weekend of the Sweet Sixteen games, compared to the prior weekend.
3. It regularly produces Cinderella stories
The single-elimination format allows smaller schools and underdogs to make incredible runs, making for an ideal event for casual fans. These runs typically include upsets, buzzer-beaters, and must-see moments that catch viewers’ eyes and, in some cases, even capture the nation’s attention, giving the NCAA the ultimate storytelling framework.
Turning March Madness Into a Digital Platform
The NCAA was quick to capitalize on the tournament’s inherent advantages. Already in 2012, it launched March Madness Live, a digital platform that functions as both a streaming and second-screen destination, allowing users to access live coverage from the NCAA’s broadcast partners and serving up a selection of additional content and features.
The results were striking. March Madness Live set records for live streams and hours of video consumption every year, and reached new heights in 2023, with a 20% year-over-year improvement in average watch time (122 minutes) and a 29% increase in completed brackets in the Bracket Challenge, where fans predict the outcome of every game.
In the past few years, the NCAA enhanced March Madness Live with features that reflect changes in consumption habits, especially among young generations. These features include:
– The perfect bracket tracker widget, which enables fans to follow the journey of all the remaining perfect brackets in real-time and see how every game impacts the quest for the first-ever perfect bracket.
– A swipeable vertical video feed of short-form content. The bite-sized narratives offer highlights, behind-the-scenes snippets, trending clips, and legendary performances that capture the essence of March Madness moments.
Scaling Moments With AI
For rights holders across sports, the takeaway extends beyond college basketball. Every property has distinctive elements that resonate with modern audiences. The key is identifying those elements and building digital destinations that amplify them, pairing live coverage with interactive tools, personalized feeds, and exclusive content that deepen engagement and keep fans inside official ecosystems.
Delivering that volume of content requires the right tech. AI-powered content creation platforms automatically generate, format, and distribute clips across all channels, allowing rights holders to produce far more assets without expanding teams. By turning live broadcasts into a steady stream of reusable moments, organizations like the NCAA can extend the lifespan of every game, ensuring the next upsets and buzzer-beaters are converted into gold.
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Actionable insights:
– Identify the elements of your sports property that naturally resonate in the digital era, and build your content strategy around them.
– Use owned platforms to amplify those strengths with interactive features, personalized feeds, and exclusive digital-first content.
– Scale storytelling with AI-powered tools that turn live broadcasts into a constant stream of short-form moments for every channel.
