The Many Screens of March Madness

According to an Accenture report, 87% of viewers use a second screen device while watching TV, up from 76% in 2013. You’re no doubt familiar with “second screening” (you’re probably doing it right now!) – it’s scrolling through twitter while watching season four of House of Cards, or looking up your fantasy football stats while the game is on. However you use it, the data points to one clear fact: the second screen is here to stay.

What does that mean for your March Madness viewing parties? It’s pretty simple: you need good Wi-Fi. The ecstasy and shattered dreams of you and your friends over the next few weeks practically require it! As you probably know, March Madness is no longer a passive experience. It’s something lived, discovered, shared, communicated – often all simultaneously. You and everyone in the room are checking brackets, talking smack on forums, watching highlight videos, tweeting live responses, and posting Insta pics of the amazing 7-layer dip you’re enjoying.

Television networks are also looking for ways to actively integrate social experiences into games, from polls to contests to questions for hosts and players. It seems likely that the term “watching TV” will come to mean something else entirely very soon, if it hasn’t already. You’re never just watching; you’re participating.

Luckily, our DIR-882 AC2600 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router is up to the challenge of dozens of streaming, tweeting, bracket-ing (is that even a word?) screens. With incredibly fast and far-reaching 11AC Wi-Fi combined with next-level networking features like Smart Beam technology, the DIR-882 AC2600 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi Router stands ready to power all of your multi-screen challenges.

Remember – wings, adult beverages, and a YUGE TV aren’t enough. Good Wi-Fi is essential for the new March Madness. And with that, we bid you good luck at the Dance. May your bracket remain unbusted.