VIACA - Ad revenue for 'March Madness' set to hit record after year away

Advertising revenue for "March Madness" - the annual NCAA men's basketball tournament - has "virtually sold out," hitting record levels just a week out from the start. That's a welcome rebound after last year's cancellation of the tournament punched a hole in ad revenues. In 2019 ads brought a $910M windfall, but last year's tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Now CBS ([[VIAC]] +3.8%, [[VIACA]] +3.7%) and Turner Sports (T -0.4%) are in "great shape going into Selection Sunday," says CBS' John Bogusz. The two companies have "never billed as much" as they have this year, Turner's Jon Diament says. The two had sold out linear ad inventory in record time last year before the tourney's cancellation. This year, more than 80% of the linear advertisers will also have a digital ad presence. CBS and Turner have lined up more than 100 advertisers combined, with 90% of last

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Ad revenue for 'March Madness' set to hit record after year away