‘March Madness’, a gold mine for college basketball

Los Angeles, USA, Apr 1 (EFE).- In a country as passionate about sports and entertainment as the United States, few events ignite passions as much as March Madness, the head-to-head showdown between the nation’s best college basketball teams, which also brings with it a major business.

After three weeks of upsets and emotions, the Final Four in the men’s section will be played in New Orleans between Duke, North Carolina, Villanova and Kansas, while in the women’s competition, which will be settled in Minneapolis, will feature teams from South Carolina, Louisville, Stanford and UConn.

The men’s title game, which will monopolize the attention of American basketball on Monday, April 4, is a particularly high-profile event.

The professional NBA will even pause its busy regular season on Monday so as not to be overshadowed by the NCAA final.

Television rights are a prime example of the impact of March Madness.

CBS/Turner reached an agreement in 2010 with the NCAA to broadcast the men’s March Madness through 2024 for $10.8 billion total, although they later extended that contract through 2032 for an additional $8.8 billion.

With those eye-watering sums in mind, it is not surprising that Americans plan to gamble up to $3.1 billion during the men’s tournament, according to a survey by the American Gaming Association (AGA).

Up to 100,000 visitors are expected in the cradle of jazz for the Final Four, according to local outlet nola.com.

Forbes magazine estimates that the Final Four will see an injection of $170 million into the city’s coffers. EFE

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