[washingtonismoney]

But the TV product will suffer if it shows stadiums at significantly less than capacity. The ncaa needs to fill those seats with interested fans.

I dunno, March Madness arenas are very, very empty very frequently.  (And because of the NCAA's branding rules, they all look identical -- if you flip through channels you have no idea where any particular game is from. It's like turning sports into standardized fast food, with no local flavor.) Still works very well as a TV product.

[washingtonismoney]

But the TV product will suffer if it shows stadiums at significantly less than capacity. The ncaa needs to fill those seats with interested fans.

I dunno, March Madness arenas are very, very empty very frequently.  (And because of the NCAA's branding rules, they all look identical -- if you flip through channels you have no idea where any particular game is from. It's like turning sports into standardized fast food, with no local flavor.) Still works very well as a TV product.