Suspension of games edit The suspension of nearly all major sports competitions, due to the pandemic, caused complications for broadcasters, as major events frequently have a large number of live viewers and high advertising revenue.[333][334] The largest and most significant events also represent a major investment by broadcasters; in 2019, the total market for sports media rights in the United States was estimated at $22.42 billion, representing 44% of the international market.[335][333][336] CBS Sports and Turner Sports pay $785 million per year to televise the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – whose 2020 edition was canceled only six days before it was scheduled to begin. In 2019, a 30-second commercial during the national championship game on CBS cost around $1.5 million, while CBS and Turner's contract to air the tournament accounts for nearly 72% of the NCAA's annual revenue.[333] At the time of the suspensions, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) were also approaching their respective playoffs, Major League Soccer (MLS) was already two weeks into its regular season, Major League Baseball (MLB) was approaching the start of its regular season, CBS Sports was approaching its spring events such as the Masters Tournament, and NBC Sports was also approaching its spring lineup (promoted as the NBC Sports Championship Season), including the Kentucky Derby, Indianapolis 500, French Open, and the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoffs—all Mehr sehen