Comcast Streaming NCAA Tournament Video for Free
CBS may be charging for online access to the NCAA basketball tournament, but Comcast customers will receive free access.
March Madness, indeed: CBS may be charging for online access to the NCAA basketball tournament, but Comcast customers will receive live, streaming video for free.
Assuming that you're a Comcast Xfinity customer, you'll be able to either set your DVR or watch the game from Comcast's NCAA streaming schedule page. Coverage will extend to all 67 games of "March Madness," including the final, on either CBS, TNT, TBS or Tru TV.
Users will need to log in with their Xfinity password to gain access to the games. At press time, the Comcast authentication method asked me for a "TruTV subscription" to access a live stream, which might either be a glitch or an indication of a problem.
In addition, Comcast's March to Glory '12, will also contain highlights, analysis, plus videos from ESPN, Fox Sports, the AP, Big Ten Network, and Reuters, Comcast said.
Unfortunately, however, mobile users are out of luck. Comcast's for the iPhone and iPad will give you live scores, change the television channel, and set the DVR, but won't show live video. Xfinity's Xfinity TV app doesn't allow video to be streamed to Android devices, and only On Demand streaming is available to iOS devices.
Instead, you'll need to pay for live mobile video of all the games. Android users will have to hope that they have an optimized device.
This is all a change from year's past, when CBS and its affiliates , minus the 64th play-in game. The format was expanded for this year's tournament, with a larger play-in round.