Slam Dunk: March Madness On The iPhone

MobiTV has struck a deal with CBS to broadcast the 2009 NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament live on the Apple iPhone 3G--all 63 games of it.

According to CBS Sports, the application will be fueled by MobiTV, a service that offers prime-time television programming on cell phones. iPhone and iPod Touch users can download the CBS Sports NCAA March Madness on-demand application from the AppStore for $4.99, which will enable live streaming of all the college basketball games. Although the tournament doesn't start until next Thursday, the app is on sale today.

The application will give iPhone users access to all CBS Sports NCAA games and will let users pick the game they want to see when there is overlap.

The video portion of the application works only over a Wi-Fi network, not on AT&T's 3G network. Folks who try to tune in over 3G or EDGE networks will hear the game audio only.

The app goes beyond just video as well. The application lets fans access tournament brackets, which are updated in realtime with scores. During live broadcasts, users can access box scores and player stats.

Taking March Madness to the iPhone is just one of many platforms CBS is using to get all eyes on the tournament. CBS Sports and the NCAA will be broadcasting all tournament games live via the Web. CBS will also offer a March Madness package on DirecTV.