advertisement
Article Tools
| Currency | US Dollar |
|---|---|
| British Pound to US Dollar | 1.661958 |
| Euro to US Dollar | 1.485002 |
| Japanese Yen to US Dollar | 0.011126 |
| Canadian Dollar to US Dollar | 0.930665 |
The game is on.
For three weeks in March, college basketball fans will be distracted, obsessed and sometimes downright crazy as they follow their favorite teams through the ups and downs of the NCAA Tournament.
But while the fans are cheering, their employers are often less excited.
The three weeks of the NCAA's "March Madness" could cost employers $237 million in lost productivity for every 13.5 minutes workers watch games online, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That means employers could lose $3.8 billion over the 16-day tournament -- a lot of dollars per dribble.
While employers grumble, the tournament adds up to big money for other sports watchers, from the TV network showing the games to the pizza chains serving up sustenance to fans.
Though the Challenger, Gray figure has shock value, it's meant to be taken lightly, CEO John Challenger said. "It raises some interesting issues for employers and employees about what is the right balance for handling this issue about what we do at work that is our personal business."
Things have changed from the days where you had a clear dividing line between break time and work time, he said. Betting pools and group game watching help to bring workers together and foster camaraderie. Companies "need that synergy to make them more than just the sum of their parts. This (tournament) is sitting right in front of them to take advantage of it."
Although Challenger doesn't truly think employers will lose all those billions, he said that if companies embraced the NCAA Tournament, that "lost" money would be well-spent.
Show me the money
Meanwhile, March Madness means something else entirely to CBS Corp. (CBS, news, msgs), whose Web site is the exclusive online carrier of the tournament games.And one word says it all: ka-ching.
Video on MSN Money
'March Madness' obsessionWhat does 'March Madness' mean to the rest of us? MSN Money's Elizabeth Strott shows us how the NCAA Tournament is affecting lives.
What makes the NCAA Tournament particularly valuable to CBS SportsLine, Riethmiller explained, is the long duration: Because the tournament lasts for weeks, viewers will keep coming back, giving the site a long-term traffic boost.
Last year, more than 1.3 million people watched webcasts over the course of the tournament, and CBS has upgraded its service this year. In 2005, when CBS charged for the service, fewer than 20,000 people signed on.
Rate this Article
High