YouTube TV ($83 per month): Having YouTube TV is like having live TV from basically any channel you want, with content from over 100 channels, including CBS, ABC and the cable channels with March Madness coverage. You can stream every televised men’s and women’s game with this package. YouTube TV also has a cool multiview feature that lets you arrange four streams on the television at once, so you can watch multiple games at the same time. If you sign up right now, until March 31, you can save $13 each month for six months with a discounted plan of only $70 per month. One-week free trial. If you subscribe to the 4K Plus add-on, it’s free for 30 days.
Sling ($23 per month): Through this service, you can stream March Madness game coverage on ESPN, TNT, and TBS. Sling’s basic plan, Orange, is half off right now at $23 per month. This gets you Men’s and Women’s College Basketball streaming at home or on the go, plus you can auto-record games with DVR. For the true blue sports fanatic, you can get the Sports Extra add-on for an additional $11 a month, which includes customizable channel lineups, conference network coverage of the BIG 10, PAC-12, and SEC, and more than 40 channels, including ESPN. No free trial.
DirecTV (starting at $75 per month): DirecTV has different packages, starting from $75 per month all the way to $155 per month. The $75 Entertainment package will get you coverage from TBS, TNT, CBS, ABC, ESPN, ESPN 2, and FOX Sports 1, among other channels, so you can watch almost all of the men’s and women’s games. (There’s no TruTV at the cheapest tier, but the more expensive plans carry the channel, which will get you all the March Madness games.) Die hard college sports fans will want the Choice package (now $10 off at $80 per month) which has the Big Ten Conference, live NCAA college football, and more collegiate regional networks. DirecTV Sports Central hub also gives customized viewing experiences with real-time stats, pregame odds, game time notifications, and more. Certain plans offer a five-day free trial.
How to Watch on Cable TV
If you want to go old school and watch the men’s games live, you can watch on four cable networks: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Games will be broadcast on local CBS affiliates, and if you have an antenna, you’ll be able to watch the games without any cable or streaming subscriptions. Check those providers for specific game times.
The NCAA website will also be streaming the games live, but you’ll need to sign into the site using the same credentials you use for your TV provider to watch. Annoying, but it’s helpful if you’re stuck at the office.
For the women’s tournament, ABC will air select games, and all the ESPN networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, etc.) will broadcast games as well. (Fubo also has women’s basketball streaming all season long and offers a free trial.) Here’s the full schedule of programming for the women’s tournament if you want to plan ahead.