How to watch March Madness - TV & Streaming Options
Updated on: February 17, 2025 / 05:55 PM

How to watch March Madness - TV & Streaming Options

*Disclaimer: All information in this article has been updated for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. TV schedules and streaming options may change, so be sure to check the latest updates directly on LiveSportsOnTV.com for the most accurate and up-to-date viewing information.

March Madness is a wonderful time of year for sports fans, presenting the best that college basketball has to offer. It is captivating action, regularly throwing out shock upsets and plenty of buzzer-beaters. This attracts millions of fans across the nation, making it one of the biggest sporting events to grace our calendars every year.

The tournament features the 64 best teams arranged into four regional brackets, with each team being ranked from 1 to 16 in their bracket. The highest-placed seed will play the lowest-placed seed, with the winners progressing each round and the losers going home. The winner is the last team standing at the end, crowning them the national champions of the college Basketball season. In this article, we will explore the various ways you can get stuck into the action, including the use of streaming platforms, free trials and local broadcasts.

Paramount Plus Ad

March Madness Broadcast Rights

The Broadcast rights for March Madness are primarily held by CBS Sports and Turner Sports. These two networks struck a deal with the NCAA over 10 years ago, making them the home of March Madness. It has been a match made in heaven for all involved, as the deal has become the NCAA’s biggest source of income, whilst also earning a fair chunk for both networks. The partnership is locked in until 2032.

If you are ever wondering where to stream live March Madness on TV today, then look no further than Live Sports on TV, where we will give you up-to-date match timings and broadcast information, along with the full March Madness 2025 TV schedule.

Best Streaming and TV Options for March Madness Fans

As a result of the successful partnership detailed above, the best place to find the games will be on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Most of those channels are only available through paid TV packages, but if you are lucky enough to have an antenna, or fancy investing in one, you can tune in to watch the CBS games for free.

With the games split across these four different broadcasters, it does make life quite tricky when it comes to not missing a game. To ensure you catch every point, you will need to have access to every broadcaster, which can get expensive. Our recommended list of streaming platforms can be found below, offering all or most of the channels you need to enjoy every game of March Madness.

  • Hulu with Live TV: Streams all four channels at $76.99 per month.
  • DirecTV Stream: Streams all four channels at $79.99 per month.
  • YouTube TV: Streams all four channels at $82.99 per month.
  • Sling TV: Offers different subscription packages starting at $45.99 per month, providing access to TBS, TNT, and truTV.
  • Paramount Plus: Allows live streaming of all games broadcast on CBS for $12 a month.

Your final option is to consider the March Madness Live Platform, which the NCAA has produced itself. It will be live streaming every single game and allows you to watch via desktop, mobile or through some Smart TVs.

Men’s March Madness Tournament Schedule

Here are all the key dates for the upcoming 2025 March Madness tournament, and the corresponding broadcast channels.

  • Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 16 - CBS
  • First Four: March 18-19 - TruTV
  • First round: March 20-21 - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV
  • Second round: March 22-23 - CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV
  • Sweet 16: March 27-28 - CBS, TBS, and TruTV
  • Elite Eight: March 29-30 - CBS, TBS, and TruTV
  • Final Four: April 5 – CBS
  • Championship: April 7 – CBS

Watch March Madness for Free

With March Madness lasting just over a month, there is an option to try and be sneaky with the various free trials kicking around to get through a good chunk of the tournament without paying a penny. The idea is that you stack your free trials back to back, starting a new one as soon as another one finishes, to enjoy your March Madness streaming for free. PLEASE NOTE, it is very important that you remember to cancel your free trial when it ends, otherwise you will be charged, and it’s not cheap.

Now, let’s run through the free trials for each service:

YouTube TV

  • Free Trial Length: Traditionally, YouTube TV offers a 7-day free trial, allowing users to explore the platform for a week.
  • Process: To sign up for the free trial, users need to visit the YouTube TV homepage, click on the "Try It Free" button, choose a Google account, submit their zip code, and click on "Start Free Trial." During the trial period, users can access features like recording programs and adding premium channels. If users decide not to continue after the trial, they can cancel anytime before it ends, but you will lose access immediately.

Hulu + Live TV

  • Free Trial Length: Hulu + Live TV typically offers a 7-day free trial. You can get a 30-day free trial for the basic Hulu package, but it is the ‘Live TV’ one we need, which is just the 7 days.
  • Process: Users can sign up for the free trial by visiting Hulu's website or app, selecting the Hulu + Live TV plan, creating an account, and providing payment details. After the trial period ends, users will be charged unless they cancel their subscription before that time. If you cancel during the trial, you will lose access to your content immediately.

Sling TV

  • Free Trial Length: Sling TV likes to keep us on our toes by constantly mixing up their offer. Sometimes there is a free trial, but often not. You simply have to check it out and cross your fingers.
  • Process: To access the free trial, users need to visit the Sling TV website, choose a subscription package, create an account, and provide payment details. The trial period allows users to explore the platform's features and channel offerings. Users have the flexibility to cancel their subscription at any time during the trial, but you will lose access immediately.

Paramount Plus

  • Free Trial Length: Paramount+ offers a free trial period of 7 days
  • Process: Users can sign up for the free trial by visiting Paramount+'s website or app, selecting the free trial option, creating an account, and providing payment details. The duration of the free trial may vary based on promotional offers. Users can enjoy access to Paramount+'s content during this period and decide whether to continue with a paid subscription after the trial ends. If you cancel during your free trial, you will still get to enjoy the content until the end of the billing cycle.

Relive the 2024 Men's National Championship

UConn secured its sixth national championship with a commanding 75-60 victory over Purdue, finishing off one of the most impressive tournament performances in NCAA history. The team achieved a rare back-to-back title win, a feat last accomplished by Florida in 2006-07.

Tips for a Better Viewing Experience

Of course, the process of setting up endless free trials is cumbersome, so for many people, the best way to watch March Madness is to simply make the best of the situation as it is. Sport is best enjoyed with friends, so viewing parties can come in very handy. Whether that is to arrange to meet at a house which has the appropriate package, or by collectively buying a package or antenna.

If you do go down the antenna route, make sure to buy a good-quality one. Nothing is more annoying than a mis-timed glitch at the most crucial moment. The same goes for the internet. If you have multiple people in the house, then extra demand could be placed on the WiFi. The best way to get around this would be to either connect the streaming device directly to the router via an ethernet cable or simply ask everyone to disconnect from the WiFi.

Conclusion

March Madness is a spectacular time of year. There is so much basketball going on, and the on-screen action should be captivating. Finding a way to keep up with every game can be tricky because of the different broadcasters, but hopefully, this guide has given you a helping hand in navigating around it.

Subscribing to a platform such as YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV or Sling TV should cover you for the whole tournament, but if you would rather not pay the fee, hopefully our tips about utilizing the free trials might come in useful.

Watching with friends is always a good option, as you might be able to reduce the cost between you. Just make sure that you do so responsibly and legally, as there are cybersecurity and legal issues that can arise from being tempted by illegal streams. Here’s to a fantastic March Madness!

Author: Venuse, Inc.