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Spring is upon us, which means the beginning of the end of seasonal depression (fingers crossed), spring breaks, and of course, brackets and betting with March Madness.
This is the annual tournament that determines which men’s and women’s Division I teams will win the NCAA Basketball championships. This year, the games begin on March 18 for men and March 19 for women. However, 2025 March Madness officially starts conveniently right before Saint Patrick’s Day, with the announcement on March 16 of the participating teams on Selection Sunday. So, you can get a head start on your drinking (and screaming).
You can watch the March Madness games live if you still subscribe to the old-school cable box, but who are we kidding—I know you’ve cut the cable and want to stream the games on the internet.
You can stream March Madness games for the NCAA Championship on various platforms, including Paramount+, Max (aka HBO Max), SlingTV, and DirecTV. I’ve done all the research for you, including how much it costs and what’s included (and when you should cancel your membership after March Madness ends).
Where to Stream
Max ($10 and up per month, plus another $10 a month for the Sports add-on): Your Max account lets you stream all of the men’s March Madness games airing on TBS, TNT, and truTV if you also opt into the Sports Add-on. Regularly, the Sports Add-on (featuring NBA, NHL, MLB games, March Madness, and more) is an additional $10 per month, but right now, you get one month of live sports for free when you sign up for a new plan. (WIRED also has Max promo codes, which can help you save on Max subscription plans.) No free trial.
Paramount+ With Showtime ($13 per month): To watch any men’s March Madness games that are being broadcast on CBS, get the Paramount+ With Showtime plan. Since this subscription gets you the games airing on CBS, and Max’s sports add-on gets you the games airing the big cable networks, you can watch all of the men’s March Madness games with a combination of these two plans. Just note that Paramount+ With Showtime is marketed as ad-free streaming, but that doesn’t apply to live TV; your NCAA coverage will include ads. One-week free trial.
Hulu With Live TV ($83 per month): You can watch all of the games—men’s and women’s—that are being broadcast live on CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV, and ESPN in one place by choosing a Hulu subscription with the “Live TV” add-on. This package is a steep $83 per month, but Hulu gives you a three-day free trial. Hulu has amped up its NCAA coverage this year, with personalized recommendations, live TV video streaming on up to two devices, unlimited DVR (to record and watch the games later), and push notifications to let you know when the games are beginning. (WIRED also has Hulu coupons, which can help you save on Hulu subscription plans.) Three-day free trial.
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.
A note on truTV: You can find truTV on most major cable and satellite providers. You can watch the NCAA Championship games via truTV on streaming platforms with access to CBS: YouTube TV ($83 per month), Hulu with Live TV ($83 per month), and Sling ($23 per month). All of these except Sling offer free trial periods. See the Where to Stream section above for more details.
How March Madness Works
March Madness is the single-elimination tournament of NCAA Division I basketball teams (68 of them in both women’s and men’s tournaments) that compete in rounds for the national championship.
March Madness is popular in part due to its bracket-style games’ schedule, which makes it easy to chart the teams’ progress through the tournament. Here’s a printable PDF of the NCAA bracket, if you like keeping tabs old-school pen-and-paper style, or here’s the official interactive bracket to keep track online.
March Madness 2025 Schedule
Selection Sunday is the official start to March Madness and is the day when the selection committee reveals the full tournament bracket, including all teams and all seeds. The NCAA regularly updates information on Selection Sunday and how to watch the bracket reveal. The men’s and women’s Selection Sunday is scheduled for March 16. You can watch the men’s at 6 pm EDT on CBS and the Women’s at 8 pm EDT on ESPN or the ESPN app.
This leads up to the penultimate round, known as the Final Four, when (shocker) only four teams are left. Those teams then compete for the final head-to-head championship game. The Final Four men’s games will take place on April 5, and the championship game will take place April 7, both at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Final Four women’s games will be on April 4, with the championship on April 6, both at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
NCAA Men’s March Madness 2025 Tournament:
- March 16: Selection Sunday
- March 18 and 19: First Four
- March 20 and 21: First round
- March 22 and 23: Second round
- March 27 and 28: Sweet 16
- March 29 and 30: Elite Eight
- April 5: Final Four
- April 7: Men’s NCAA championship game
NCAA Women’s March Madness 2025 Tournament:
- March 16: Selection Sunday
- March 19 and 20: First Four
- March 21 and 22: First round
- March 23 and 24: Second round
- March 28 and 31: Birmingham Regional
- March 28 and 31: Spokane Regional
- April 4: Final Four
- April 6: Women’s NCAA championship game
