March Madness streaming

Credit: Brian Spurlock

The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is and has been one of the biggest sports events in the USA for some time. It's not as big as other events, even college events, such as the College Football Playoffs and New Year's Bowls, but that simply says how big football is. March Madness, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is big. Really big.

This year's tournament begins today, and many many people want to watch the games. Not just the games involving their favorite team, but many of tournament games. It's a big deal. So, if you're a streamer, how do you watch the games?

Some of the early games are on truTV. You may know that truTV used to be known as Court TV, before changing its name a few years ago. And, if you have a local station that carries Court TV, that's not the same thing. Court TV did relaunch a couple of years or so back, but it and truTV are separate channels. If you want to watch basketball games on truTV, you need truTV.

Other games will be on CBS, TBS, and TNT. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be on CBS and TBS. Final Four and Championship will be on TBS.

So, how do you watch those channels if you are streaming? Well, it's pretty easy, but not cheap.

truTV

The First Four play-in games are on truTV, as are some First and Second Round games. turTV is available from four services.

• Sling TV (Blue) ($35/month)
• YouTube TV ($65/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70.month)
• DirecTV Stream ($70/month)

CBS

The Tiffany Network is carrying games from First Round through (and including) Elite Eight games.

• Antenna (free)
• Paramount+ (Premium) ($10/month)
• Fubo ($65/month)
• YouTube TV ($65/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70.month)
• DirecTV Stream ($70/month)

TNT and TBS

TNT is carrying games from the First and Second Rounds. TBS is carrying all rounds after the play-in games, including the Final Four and Championship.

• Sling (Orange or Blue) ($35/month)
• YouTube TV ($65/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70.month)
• DirecTV Stream ($70/month)

The cheapest plan that carries everything is either:

• Sling TV (Blue) ($35/month) if you have an antenna.
• YouTube TV ($65/month) if you do not have an antenna.

However you choose to watch the games, you have options, lots of options, to include March Madness in your Streaming Life.