Sure, this year's Super Bowl was said to be responsible for some two million HDTV purchases, but driving another million just a month later isn't anything to sneeze at. According to a new release from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament "will help inspire the purchase of nearly 1 million HDTVs (934,000), which represents slightly more than $1 billion in retail sales." Beyond that, the data also found that over half of existing HDTV-owning sports fans would end up turning their attention to the internet in order to fetch highlights and statistics. Of course, it also discovered that the amount of fans viewing whole games online is on the rise, and considering that The Man will likely have you right where he wants you tomorrow (read: nowhere near a TV), we don't find that surprising at all.

Following Comcast's footsteps, Time Warner Cable has just made it official: it will also be offering its subscribers CBS Sports' March Madness on demand content free of charge. In case you weren't already aware, this will allow customers to access game highlights and historical NCAA March Madness vignettes via video-on-demand, but unfortunately, only users in North Texas will see said programming in high-definition. Now, more than ever, the rest of the TWC nation could really use HD VOD, eh? [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

Granted, many CBS affiliates -- Raleigh's WRAL and Indianapolis' WISH, just to name a couple -- have been multicasting the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament OTA for years now, but after seeing a breakdown of the schedule over at KPHO, we felt it prudent to remind sports fanatics that busting out the antenna may not be such a bad idea tomorrow. Phoenix -- which just had seven HD channels flipped on by Cox -- is one area in which the local CBS affiliate is multicasting every remaining March Madness game on its array of digital OTA channels, and five other carriers in the heart of Arizona are also providing ways to see every matchup. Granted, we doubt each of these will be seen everywhere in high-def, but feel free to check with your local CBS affiliate to see if you'll be left out of any of the Madness.

[Thanks, Steven]

Buy a new HDTV / projector for the big game(s)? Pssh. Why do that when you can just rent your way to impressing those fair-weather friends of yours? Hot on the heels of Selection Sunday comes fresh PR from Projector123, which is hopping on the rental bandwagon in hopes that jazzed up fans will want something more than they've got right now in order to enjoy the upcoming March Madness. Best of all, the bulk of these games will be broadcast in HD over the air, so picking up an HDTV with a built-in tuner or a projector with a standalone tuner would enable you to catch most of the action without forking out for HD service (or going into debt for a swank new display). 'Course, we'd suggest putting the cash you'd spend on a rental into an entirely new set -- after all, how will you honestly ever look at that 19-inch CRT after watching the Final Four on an 82-inch projection screen?

Not like it really needed to be said or anything, but DirecTV's looking to keep NCAA basketball fans glued to their sets once again this year with its exclusive Mega March Madness package. What's notable, however, is that all 37 games included in the package will be aired in high-definition this year with access to scores and statistics via the interactive, on-screen L-wrap, and of course, you'll also have access to a Game Mix channel (four broadcasts shown at once) and an on-screen tournament bracket. Start saving up that $69 now -- the madness starts on March 20th.

For those who have already shed tears seeing that their upcoming business trip will take them away from their home during March Madness, we've excellent news. If there just so happens to be a Hyatt Place -- which is known for keeping sports fan on-the-go in the loop -- wherever you're headed, you (probably) won't miss a minute of the always unpredictable action. Announced today, college hoops fans staying at over 90 select hotels from March 20th - 23rd and 27th - 28th can book the March Basketball Package, which will give them a one-day subscription to DirecTV's Mega March Madness, early check-in on game day and a game-day snack pack including a pizza and drinks. Better still, the complimentary WiFi will enable you to stay connected to real-time stats, but we know your eyes aren't going to glance away from the 42-inch HDTV for long.

Comcast isn't messing around with its HD VOD initiative, as just a under a month after it promised to deliver a slew of upcoming films to its on-demand library the same day they arrived on DVD, the cable company is hitting back with even more goodness for March. As expected, Comcast will be offering up NCAA March Madness Memories and Highlights via HD VOD, and if that wasn't enough, you can also catch sport-themed movie highlights this month as well. For those not exactly into hoops, you can check out Nancy Drew and August Rush at your convenience on March 11th, and your kids will certainly dig the exclusive HD replay of Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards on March 30th. For the full rundown on Comcast's March HD VOD plans, check out the release waiting after the jump.

Not to be outdone by the ACC's deal with Raycom and ESPN, CBS has announced that it's teaming up with cable co's to bring viewers HD VOD (video on demand) segments from the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness). Right out of the blocks from round 1, the CBS College Sports Network will assemble highlight reels from 63 tournament games, daily tournament recaps and historical pieces. Comcast and Bresnan are the first to carry this programming, but we're seriously hoping that this catches on with a lot more carriers real quick-like. Price to get these VOD segments: free. Watching your friends' brackets go up in smoke, HD-style: priceless.

What we're watching: The NCAA Tournament marches on, but we're most interested to Six Degrees see back on ABC.

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What we're watching: March Madness is here, the Sweet Sixteen is on CBS tonight and your favorite team should always be in HD. An Inconvenient Truth is also on Showtime tonight, but we can always wait until the day after tomorrow to learn about global warming.

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Despite many commenters complaining about extended SD-only periods of NCAA Tournament action, we've gotten a lot of HD action on our CBS feed. As it turns out, the home team (University of Michigan) being NIT-bound might have guaranteed us more HDTV action than say, North Carolina residents. A CBS spokeswoman explained to The Mercury News that a lack of capacity causes the network to ensure the local market gets its preferred game, by only sending an SD feed. Otherwise, you'll get a "flex" feed, that switches to the best action, and in high definition. Next week, once some teams have been eliminated, there will be enough capacity to get every game, to every market in HD. CBS says it's "likely" their capabilities will change for next year, but if they don't, HDTV owners might be rooting against their alma mater next winter.

What we're watching: Lost continues to grow increasingly convoluted, and yet we can't stop watching. It would have been great to read that map last week in high definition, if it had been written in English of course.

Even though March Madness is over, things are just heating up in the NBA, with the playoffs right around the corner and everyone fighting for seedings. Four teams that are going to be a part of the postseason action in the Western Conference are in action tonight in a doubleheader on ESPN-HD.



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What we're watching: After watching Joakim Noah & Co. dismantle UCLA last night, March Madness truly comes to a close with the women's title game between Duke and Maryland on ESPN-HD. For baseball fans, the season is finally here as the Twins and Blue Jays at 7 so you can finally stop talking about steroid rumors and maybe watch a real game or two.

We'll probably be checking out the new episode of Teachers tonight, someone must answer the question of whether or not a show that needs a laugh track to tell you where the jokes are can ever truly be funny. We doubt it, but we'll keep you posted.


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What we're watching: Final Four time, and still George Mason's run continues. Can they get to the final game? We'll find out tonight at 6 on CBS. If you can possibly tear yourself away from some of the best hoops action in history, Jeremy Piven's Journey of a Lifetime seems very interesting as the Entourage star takes a trip through India, first of a two parter and debuting tonight on Discovery-HD.

After our April Fools joke earlier, we'll be perfectly honest, we are watching the Saturday Night Live repeat in high definition tonight because Scarlett Johansson is incredibly hot.

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What we're watching: Bracketology continues to evolve before our eyes, after the stunning falls of Gonzaga and Duke last night, George Mason looks to continue their improbable run against Wichita State, while Florida matches up with Georgetown. Villanova and Uconn also look to crush Cinderella's dreams tonight.

The premiere episode of Heist is showing again tonight, and maybe it will all be in high definition this time. We'll probably be checking out The Roots Present at 9 on INHD2, their live show is not to be missed.

Our traditional high-def listings continue below.