Big crowds for NCAA online

It may just be a coincidence that my Internet connection is especially sluggish, but CBS says its online coverage of the first day of March Madness drew 1.75 million unique visitors, a 122 percent jump from a year ago and 25 percent more than for the entire tournament in 2007. One reason for the surge is CBS's use of pop-up windows through non-CBS websites. So a visitor to ESPN.com can watch video of CBS's coverage. "My forecast was for double-digit growth, maybe 80 percen," Jason Kint, CBSSports.com's general manager, told Ad Age. "But we're way over that." Ad revenue is expected to reach $21 million, up from $10 million last year – though still a small slice of the overall tournament pie.