The NCAA basketball tournament is one of the most popular – and most watched – sporting events in the U.S. With the first wave of NCAA games starting recently, many diehard fans took the day off of work (or class) to go to their favorite bar to watch the games and cheer for their favorite teams throughout the day.

Whether it’s a sports bar in a major city, local bars in college towns, or chain restaurants, thousands of watering holes were packed with fans wanting to watch multiple games (some simultaneously) while staying connected to the Internet and social media to track score updates, find the major “upsets” of the tournament, and monitor picks in their own NCAA brackets. (In a March 12 ESPN.com story, the American Gaming Association estimated that 40 million Americans will fill out more than 70 million brackets.)

These games could lead to some huge days for business in the bar and restaurant industry, and many establishments will “ramp up” for these busy days with extra staff, more food and drinks in their inventory, expanded menus and special promotions.

It’s also important for these establishments to have the right technology in place – both HD TV and Internet – to satisfy patrons and give them all the games and scores they want. Otherwise, they will walk out the door – quickly – looking for a better option. This is a situation where the combination of HD TV and high-performance Internet is so important to a bar or restaurant’s business, and it can lead to not only a record day of food and beverage sales, but can turn first-time patrons into repeat customers.

Enjoy the basketball games!

Interested in learning about TV solutions from Comcast Business? Visit http://business.comcast.com/tv