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Lots of Streaming Options as College Basketball’s March Madness Begins
March 14, 2023
The NCAA’s annual college basketball “March Madness” tournament begins today (March 14) with 134 combined games slated through the rest of the month between the top 68 men’s and women’s teams across regional brackets nationwide, with the women’s championship game scheduled for April 2 in Dallas, followed by the men on April 3 in Houston.
CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV and ESPN (and ESPN+) will again broadcast all of the games live, but the hardcourt action is also available across myriad streaming channels, spearheaded by Paramount+, in addition to online TV options.
At $9.99 monthly, Paramount+ Premium is the least expensive option to stream all CBS simulcast games. March Madness is not available on the lower-priced Paramount+ tier.
Dish’s Sling TV Blue is the least expensive ($40 monthly) online TV option to access Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TNT, TBS, and truTV games. Notably, HBO Max is not streaming March Madness despite being owned by WBD. Other online TV options include DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV.
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While NBCUniversal’s Peacock service will not offer March Madness, Comcast’s streaming platforms Xfinity Flex (available to X1 internet subscribers) and free ad-supported Xumo TV will feature a comprehensive tournament hub to help streamers find the best way to watch. Streamers will be able to view a tournament bracket, find free streaming channels and tournament news and highlights, and upgrade to a host of third-party streaming services offering live coverage of all or a portion of this year’s tournaments.
“There is no better place to experience all the excitement of March basketball than X1,” John Dixon, SVP, entertainment, Comcast Cable, said in a statement.
First Four: March 14-15
First round: March 16-17
Second round: March 18-19
Sweet 16: March 23-24
Elite Eight: March 25-26
Final Four: April 1 on CBS/Paramount+
NCAA men’s championship game: April 3 on CBS/Paramount+