Here’s How to Stream March Madness for Less
The March Madness 2025 bracket released yesterday. For 68 teams, it brings the opportunity to compete for a national championship.
The tournament starts on Tuesday, March 18 with the play-in games and culminates on April 7 with the national championship game.
To catch tournament games live, you’ll need a provider offering TBS, TNT, CBS and truTV. Here’s a look at several of the ways you can stream games for less.
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Stream March Madness on Sling TV
Sling TV is among the most affordable streaming services available. They break up their packages into three options, allowing you to best choose the right fit for your viewing needs.
For tournament action, you’ll need the Sling Blue package, as it features TNT, truTV and TBS. You can sign up for a package here:
The only issue with Sling TV is it won’t offer local channels in every market. So if you want to stream games airing on CBS, you can either buy a digital antenna or have a Paramount Plus membership.
The other consideration with Sling TV is they occasionally offer deals. Right now, you can try their service for 50% off one month, bringing the Sling Blue plan from $45.99 down to $23.
Paramount Plus
Paramount Plus works best when you use it in tandem with another streaming subscription like Sling TV or Max. With this Paramount Plus, you’ll be able to stream every NCAA tournament game airing live on CBS.
There are two packages for Paramount Plus: The Paramount Plus Essentials Plan runs $7.99 while the Paramount Plus with Showtime option is $12.99 per month.
If you’re a new subscriber, you can try the service for free for a week. Sign up here:
Pair Max with Paramount Plus
The cheapest way to stream NCAA tournament games is by pairing Paramount Plus with Max. Max allows you to stream NCAA tournament games airing on TBS, truTV and TNT.
You can get an ad-free plan for $9.99 per month plus taxes. Coupled with an ad-supported plan from Paramount Plus, you can stream every NCAA tournament game for around $20 after taxes.
You can sign up for a Max account here:
Use free trials to stream March Madness games
Many streaming services offer you a chance to try their platform for free to see if it’s to your liking. YouTube TV is among the best streaming platforms for sports fans.
I have used it for the past three years and never experienced an issue viewing March Madness action. It features every channel you need and with their multi-view, you can watch multiple games at once.
It’s akin to bringing the sports bar experience to your living room. Best of all, if you’re new, you can try the service for free for 10 days.
Another option is Hulu + Live TV. Similar to YouTube TV, Hulu’s live TV platform offers all the channels you need to stream as many games as you want live. And if you’re new, you can try it free for three days:
The bottom line
March Madness starts tomorrow, giving you a little time to plan how to stream it. Our options include ways to bundle different streaming services and still pay a fraction of the price you would with a regular live platform.
And in the case of live-streaming services, many of them offer free trials, where you can stream a weekend to a week of action for free before committing to another streaming service.
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