I found the AOE splash buffs kind of annoying when they came out, honestly, but eh, they're here regardless of my preferences. (They made playing a Bot/FF MM even *more* boring, if that was possible...)
That said, I don't think CM would get that - I don't think ID from Kinetics did, either, when SB got turned into an AOE. I *suspect* (purely guesswork) it's because it's status protection. Unlike shields (which still have a chance to hit,) status protection just lets players ignore most control effects - which can be fairly powerful. My *guess* is that that'll be what keeps it a single-target buff. (Granted it doesn't take long to recharge.)