It is (March) Madness!

March Madness is the exciting display of collegiate athletics that takes over our water cooler conversations and competitive gambling urges every year. It like many other things have adapted itself to the digital world. Tracking The Big Dance has evolved from crinkled up paper score sheets to online brackets, mobile apps and online competitions with huge payouts for those who can pick the winning teams.

There are apps available that predict, analyze and track games along with multiple brackets. As of March 27^th, there have been 41.6 million visits across March Madness On Demand online products, iPad and iPhone apps for the games.

Along with the increased use of apps, more people are watching the games online then years past. During this year’s first five rounds of the tournament, 12.7 million total hours of streaming video were consumed across the MMOD online, iPad and iPhone apps.

Whether you studied the teams and followed the stats or if you’re one to let the fate of a coin or jersey color fill out your bracket, you could have a big pay day if you make that flawless bracket.  Sportsbooks.com is offering a $14 million prize for a perfect bracket! Yahoo.com is also offering a prize of $1 million dollars (yes, I am saying this in my best Dr. Evil voice) for the perfect bracket entered with their contest.

There are also big pay outs for the networks involved. CBS expects to make around $30 million in advertising revenue for its online broadcasts. This is about 30% more then it made back in 2008.

The Championship Game will take place on Monday April 4^th, so if you are a diehard basketball supporter or a fair-weather fan, there are plenty of apps and online videos to accommodate your viewing needs for the end of this year’s madness.