The NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournament kicks off this week, with the former known throughout the sports world as “March Madness” and the latter growing in popularity every year.
Every spring, college basketball explodes in a frenzy known as March Madness. This single-elimination tournament crowns the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Champion, but it’s become much more than just a game: It’s a cultural phenomenon, gripping the nation with its thrilling upsets, Cinderella stories, and buzzer-beaters.
For years, the March Madness tournament was split between broadcast television (CBS) and cable (TBS, TNT and Tru TV) — and college basketball fans who wanted to watch the entire tournament had no choice but to buy cable or satellite TV if they wanted to catch all the action.
These days, things are much simpler: The March Madness basketball tournament is widely available on streaming services that replicate the cable experience — but choosing which service to buy (or, in some cases, try out for free) is incredibly important if you want to watch all the action.
Some publications will point you to expensive cable-like streaming services that earn them sizable commissions while costing sports fans over $100 per month, simply for the privilege of watching a college basketball tournament? Lucky for you, this article will outline the cheapest ways to watch all March Madness games — and you only need two low-cost streaming services to accomplish it. (For women’s basketball fans, things are even better — you only need one service to watch the games, and we’ll tell you which one it is).
Even better: There are no contracts and no hidden fees. Read on to learn more…
Which streaming services do I need to watch all March Madness games?
This year, March Madness is split across two broadcasters that distribute games on four TV channels: Paramount Global has half the rights, and will make the games available on local CBS stations and affiliates, while Warner Bros Discovery’s TNT Sports has the other half, and will make games available on cable networks TNT, TBS and Tru TV.
There are only two streaming services March Madness fans need to watch games: One is Paramount Plus with Showtime, which costs $13 per month and offers games from CBS (free trial available by clicking or tapping here). The other is Max, which will make games from TNT Sports available through the B/R Sports menu (free trial available by clicking or tapping here).
How do I stream March Madness games that are on CBS?
The cheapest way to watch the CBS games of the NCAA March Madness tournament is to sign up for Paramount Plus with Showtime, which costs $13 per month or $120 per year and includes live access to local CBS stations and affiliates.
Paramount Plus with Showtime doesn’t just offer streaming access to CBS: Subscribers will also get the East Coast and West Coast feeds of Showtime, plus access to hundreds of TV shows and movies from Paramount Pictures, Showtime, CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, TV Land, Comedy Central, BET and more — all from within the Paramount Plus app on streaming TVs, phones, tablets and the Paramount Plus website.
Paramount Plus with Showtime offers a seven-day free trial, so streamers can try out the service before they commit to buying it. To try out Paramount Plus with Showtime for free, click or tap here. (Note: Only the Paramount Plus with Showtime tier will offer live access to CBS and NCAA March Madness games — the Paramount Plus Essentials plan does not include basketball games.)
Paramount Plus with Showtime is available on many streaming TV platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV (Google TV) and Roku, along with some smart TV platforms made by Sony, LG, Samsung and Vizio.
To learn more about Paramount Plus with Showtime, or to sign up for a plan, click or tap here.
How do I stream March Madness games that are on TBS, TNT and Tru TV?
Historically, the only way to watch March Madness games on TBS, TNT and Tru TV was to sign up for a cable, satellite or streaming cable-like service.
This year, that won’t be the case: All March Madness games offered by TNT Sports will stream on Max through the Bleacher Report (B/R) Sports section.
But, there is a small catch: Only the ad-free versions of Max — which start at $17 per month — will offer access to every March Madness game aired by TNT Sports. Max is no longer including B/R Sports in its lower-priced, ad-supported plan, called Max Basic with Ads, after March 30. So, college basketball diehards who want live access to every game from TNT Sports will have to purchase Max Standard (starts at $17 per month) or Max Premium ($21 per month).
To learn more about Max, or to sign up for a plan, click or tap here.
How do I stream March Madness games from CBS, TNT, TBS and Tru TV from a single streaming service?
There are a few streaming services that offer channels from CBS Sports and TNT Sports within a single app, but they’re considerably more expensive than simply purchasing Paramount Plus with Showtime and Max to watch the games.
The first is Hulu with Live TV, which offers CBS, TBS, TNT and Tru TV for $82 per month. Hulu with Live TV also includes nearly 100 other live broadcast and cable networks, including local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations and affiliates, plus cable news and sports channels like CBS Sports Network, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN and Fox Sports 1, plus access to the ad-supported tiers of Hulu, ESPN Plus and Disney Plus are included at no extra cost. To learn more about Hulu with Live TV, including which devices work with the service, click or tap here.
The second is DirecTV Stream, which offers live access to CBS, TBS, TNT and Tru TV in its “Entertainment” package, with a starting price of $87 per month plus tax. The package also includes 90 channels of news, entertainment and sports, including ESPN, Fox Sports 1, Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, HGTV, FX, Cartoon Network, Comedy Central, National Geographic and the Disney Channel, plus local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC stations. To learn more about DirecTV Stream, click or tap here.
Can I watch all NCAA March Madness games on Sling TV?
While Sling TV is a great option for streamers on a budget, it will only offer a portion of the games from the 2025 NCAA March Madness tournament. Games airing on TBS, TNT and Tru TV are available within the Sling Orange or Sling Blue package, which start at $40 per month (currently half off to new customers who sign up by clicking or tapping this link), but games airing on CBS are not available because Sling TV does not carry CBS local stations and affiliates.
Current Sling TV subscribers who want to watch all games from the 2025 NCAA March Madness tournament should add Paramount Plus with Showtime to get access to games airing on CBS. Paramount Plus with Showtime costs $13 per month or $120 per year; new and former Paramount Plus with Showtime subscribers can get a free trial by clicking or tapping here.
Can I watch all NCAA March Madness games on Fubo?
Fubo is a great way to watch live sports — unless you are a college basketball fan who wants to stay on top of the 2025 NCAA March Madness tournament. While Fubo does offer live CBS stations and affiliates across the country, it currently doesn’t offer TBS, TNT or Tru TV — which means many of the games airing exclusively on cable TV won’t be available to Fubo subscribers unless they purchase a different service.
If you are a Fubo customer, consider subscribing to Max, which is currently offering over 40 percent off their annual plans when streamers sign up by clicking or tapping this link. Max will offer streaming access to all NCAA March Madness games airing on TBS, TNT and Tru TV via their B/R Sports section, which will be included in all Max plans during the NCAA March Madness tournament.
When does the NCAA March Madness tournament start?
The 2025 March Madness tournament is divided across several sections — First 4, First Round, Second Round, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4 and the National Championship game.
So far, the TV dates and times for the First 4 and First Round games have been announced (all times Eastern Time):
First 4 Games (Tuesday, March 18)
- Saint Francis (16) vs. Alabama (16) — 6:40 p.m. on Tru TV (stream with Max)
- North Carolina (11) vs. San Diego State (11) — 9:10 p.m. on Tru TV (stream with Max)
First 4 Games (Wednesday, March 19)
- Mount St. Mary’s (16) vs. American (16) — 6:40 p.m. on Tru TV (stream with Max)
- Xavier (11) vs. Texas (11) — 9:10 p.m. on Tru TV (stream with Max)
First Round Games (Thursday, March 20 & Friday, March 21)
To fill out or download an NCAA March Madness bracket, click or tap here.
How do I stream NCAA Women’s College Basketball Tournament Games?
The 2025 NCAA Women’s College Basketball Tournament takes place from Wednesday, March 19 through Sunday, April 6. All games will broadcast on the ESPN multiplex of networks, including ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN U, with select games also available on ABC.
To stream games from the NCAA Women’s College Basketball Tournament, click or tap here to learn more about ESPN Plus.
