Use of Hotspot Shield VPN to Watch the 2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament Increased an Average of 441% between the First and Last Game

Just as in 2012, the use of Hotshot Shield VPN to access the CBSsports.com and NCAA.com sites skyrocketed during the 2013 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. (figure 1)

CBSsports.com and NCAA.com were 2 of the few sites that broadcast the games live on their online platforms.

This means that fans of college basketball were able to experience the tournament’s games on these 2 sites through their computers, tablets, or mobile devices — for free.

However,  if you were stuck at work or school during the broadcasting of these games, your IT administrators had probably took actions to block or prevent the streaming of video content.

Luckily, there are technologies available to access blocked websites and content. One of the few ways to experience the tournament at work or at school is by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) such as the free Hotspot Shield VPN.

Some notable highlights:

• Similar usage patterns for Hotshot Shield from start to end of the tournament in 2012 and 2013.
• Visits to NCAA.com and CBSsports.com through Hotspot Shield VPN increased an  average of 441% (5.4X) between the first and the last game (March 17 – April 8, 2013).
• The peak usage was during the 2nd Round games, when visits to CBSsports.com & NCAA.com through Hotshot Shield VPN increased by 1927% (20.3X).
• Peak usage (during 2nd round games) more than tripled in 2013 compared to 2012.