How to watch March Madness: Stream the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments starting March 14
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- March Madness 2023 begins on March 14 with the men's First Four competing in Dayton, Ohio, on TruTV.
- The brackets for March Madness will be announced March 12, Selection Sunday, on CBS and ESPN.
- CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV will air the men's tournament; the women's tournament is on ESPN networks.
March Madness, the annual NCAA tournament for men's and women's basketball, will begin on March 14 and continue through April 3 to decide this year's national champions. Both tournaments will feature 68 collegiate teams with a single game, single elimination format.
The March Madness tournament brackets will be revealed on March 12, Selection Sunday, during two live shows. The men's bracket will be announced on CBS with coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET, while the women's bracket will be revealed at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
South Carolina won the women's tournament last year and currently sits atop the AP rankings with an undefeated record. Defending men's champion Kansas is currently ranked third, behind #2 UCLA and #1 Houston.
March Madness begins with the First Four, pitting the bottom seeded teams in the men's and women's tournaments against each other to earn the 16th seed in the larger bracket. The men's first four games will be played on March 14 and 15 on TruTV, while the women's first four will be played on March 15 and 16 on ESPNU and ESPN2.
How to watch March Madness 2023
You can watch March Madness 2023 starting March 14. Games are spread across CBS, TNT, TBS, TruTV, and ESPN networks. If you don't have cable, these channels can all be streamed through select live TV streaming services.
How to watch the men's NCAA basketball tournament
Broadcast partners for the men's NCAA basketball tournament include CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV. If you want to stream every men's March Madness game, your cheapest option is a Sling TV Blue membership ($40/month) and a Paramount Plus Premium membership ($10/month).
Sling TV Blue will give you access to games on TNT, TBS, and TruTV, while Paramount Plus will offer CBS. The combined cost of both services comes out to $50/month, but new members can get 50% off their first month of Sling, bringing the total cost down to $30 for your first month.
Meanwhile, if you want streaming access to all four channels through one service, you can opt for a YouTube TV ($65/month) or Hulu + Live TV ($70/month) membership. Both services include access to CBS, TNT, TBS, and TruTV.
How to watch the women's NCAA basketball tournament
The women's NCAA basketball tournament will air on the ESPN family of networks, including ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews.
If you don't have cable TV, Sling TV's Orange ($40/month) with Sports Extra package ($11/month) is the cheapest option to stream every channel needed to watch the women's tournament. ABC is only available in select areas with Sling, but sports broadcasts on ABC are typically simulcast on ESPN3 for all Sling viewers.
Though more expensive, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and FuboTV all offer plans with the necessary networks as well, and they provide access to ABC in more markets.
March Madness 2023 schedule
AP Photo/Eric Gay
Men's NCAA basketball tournament schedule
Round | Date and time (ET) | Channels |
First Four | March 14, 6:30 p.m., 9 p.m. | TruTV |
First Four | March 15, 6:30 p.m., 9 p.m. | TruTV |
First round | March 16, Noon to midnight | CBS/Paramount Plus, TNT, TBS, TruTV |
First round | March 17, Noon to midnight | CBS/Paramount Plus, TNT, TBS, TruTV |
Second round | March 18, Noon to 11:30 p.m. | CBS/Paramount Plus, TNT, TBS, TruTV |
Second Round | March 19, Noon to 11:30 p.m. | CBS/Paramount Plus, TNT, TBS, TruTV |
Women's NCAA basketball tournament schedule
Round | Date and time (ET) | Channels |
First Four | March 15, 7 p.m., 9 p.m. | ESPNU |
First Four | March 16, 7 p.m., 9 p.m. | ESPN2 |
First round | March 17, 11:30 a.m. to midnight | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews |
First round | March 18, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. | ABC, ESPN2, ESPN, ESPNU, ESPNews |
Second round | March 19, 1 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 |
Second Round | March 20, 4 p.m. to midnight | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU |
How are teams selected for March Madness?
College basketball teams can earn a bid to compete in the NCAA tournament in two ways; 32 teams automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference tournament at the end of the regular season, and the other 36 teams are selected by an NCAA committee.
Once all 68 teams are chosen, they are then seeded into the four regions by the committee based on their overall strength.