Maddening! More ways to catch the NCAA touey could put a crimp on productivity - CNET

The Madness will be inescapable for some college hoops fans.

About a third of American adults polled in a survey will have their eyes glued to NCAA action playing out on their phones and tablets this Thursday and Friday. Those distracted workers could cost employers $3.9 billion in lost productivity.

That's more than double last year's $1.9 billion in estimated losses, said Andy Challenger, vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which helps out-of-work people find jobs.

A separate survey of 1,000 adults conducted by KRC Research and Verizon Wireless found that 58 percent of milleials plan to watch a game on their phone or tablet, and 40 percent plan to use those devices to keep track of their brackets.

These figures highlight society's all-consuming interest in sports, fueled by constant Inteet feeds and a reliance on mobile devices. Throw in sports-focused blogs, athletes with multiple social media accounts, and the nearly 57 million people playing fantasy sports, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, and you get a round-the-clock sports obsession -- even attracting people who don't usually follow the action. Last year's NCAA touament drew 11.3 million total viewers, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals, making it the most watched March Madness in 22 years.