HOBE SOUND, Fla., April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — In March and April every year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sponsors a 68-team men's college basketball tournament. The tournament takes place in several locations over several weeks and culminates in a championship game. This year's championship game was played in Dallas on April 7th. The two protagonists were the University of Kentucky and the University of Connecticut. Americans for Responsible Advertising Inc. (AFRA) recorded the CBS television broadcast of the game and analyzed the advertising that was presented from the beginning (tip-off) to the end of the game.
During that time (from the beginning to the end of the game), the 20 million or so viewers saw 40 minutes of playing time, 104 commercials, and 38 minutes of advertising. The rest of the time was consumed by replays, interviews, and commentary. And that doesn't tell the whole story. Not-counted advertising includes such things as the NCAA logo presented at nearly subliminal speed at the beginning and end of each replay, the NCAA logo and letters painted on the floor of the arena, the AT&T logo painted on the roof (yes, roof) of the arena, and the CBS logo on the microphones and at various places inside the arena.
The average length of the 104 commercials was approximately 22 seconds with the shortest being 10-second, partial-screen advertisements for future CBS programs and the longest being a 90-second Samsung commercial. An AFRA panel did not find any of the advertising to be offensive although Buick's repeating of the same 30-second commercial five times during the broadcast was considered to be annoying.
The University of Connecticut won the game 60 points to 54 points i.e., a total of 114 points and 104 commercials.
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