• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 10, 2013

The ad-supported free streaming of every March Madness game saw a massive traffic bounce for the length of the tournament. The nearly 50 million live streams were up 168% versus a year ago, Turner said.

Turner oversaw the platform accessible via NCAA.com, CBSSports.com and bleacherreport.com -- as well as Google Play and the App Store. Sponsors included Capital One, Buick, AT&T and Infiniti.

Even as many games were on cable networks TNT, TBS and truTV, they were free online.

Mobile phones saw a 309% increase in viewed minutes this year, while there was a 194% increase via tablets. Turner said there were 5.8 million unique broadband users watching live video -- up 170% versus 2012.  

The Valparaiso-Michigan State game garnered the most live streams across platforms with 1.84 million, followed by Bucknell-Butler at 1.78 million and Mississippi-Wisconsin at 1.78 million.

Turner also touted the social media activity, saying the April 16 Final Four games sparked 1.4 million comments -- a 16% bump over last year.