Thanks to a deal closed by Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, you can only watch NCAA men’s basketball games on CBS and Turner channels TBS, TNT, and TruTV. That means among on-demand services, your best bets at watching March Madness live are Paramount+ and Max (with the B/R add-on). You can also choose among live TV streaming services that carry the channels above—that’s most major providers including Sling (for the budget-conscious), DirecTV Stream (for those with money to spare), and Hulu with Live TV (for those looking to stream lower-tier college basketball matches on ESPN+, which comes with the package). Notably, Fubo does not carry any of the Turner channels, but it’s an otherwise great option for other kinds of games, including NBA matches. Meanwhile, women’s college basketball games are often available on ESPN and ABC, so you’ll want to look at streaming services that carry those channels. Below, we list the best streaming services for watching college basketball.
The Best Streaming Services for College Basketball
| DirecTV Stream 124 channels included
|
$86.99 | Watch | |
| Sling Orange + Blue 50 channels included
|
$60 | Watch | |
| Hulu with Live TV 102 channels included
|
$82.99 | Watch | |
Named the "best all-around streaming service for cord-cutters" by Rolling Stone, DirecTV Stream tries to be all the good things about cable without any of the hassle. It has a big selection of channels, possibly the best stream quality in the market, and great DVR capability. For example, unlike with competitor Youtube TV, your DVR recordings on DirecTV will be the same quality as the live stream (often in 4K). The service also comes with a decent monthly price tag, and Netflix-style practicality that allows you to stream Live TV from anywhere by downloading the app. Within your home, you can stream on up to 20 devices (!), and from outside your home you can stream on up to three devices.
Price: $86.99/month
Free Trial: 5 days
Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, Roku, Samsung TV
Channel lineup: ABC, ACC Network, AccuWeather, Alien Nation, AMC, Anger Management, Animal Planet, Are We There Yet?, AXS TV, BABY FIRST, BabyTV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Boomerang, Bravo, C-SPAN, C-SPAN2, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS local channels, Cleo TV, CMT, CNBC, CNN, CNN en Espanol, CNNi, Comedy Central, Comedy Dynamics, Court TV, Crime 360, CW, Daystar HD, Discovery Channel, Duck Dynasty, E! Entertainment, EarthxTV, Ebony TV, El Rey Rebel, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FMC, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports 1, Fox Weather, Freeform, FUEL TV, Fuse Music, FX, Galavision, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, HerSphere, HGTV, HLN, Home Shopping Network, HSN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, ION, ION Television, Jewelry Television, MotorTrend, MovieSphere, MSNBC, MTV Classic, MTV2, NBA TV, NBC, NBC local channels, News Nation, Nick Jr., One America News, Ovation, Oxygen True Crime, Paramount Network, PBS, PBS Kids, PBS local channels, Poker GO, Pursuit Channel, QVC, QVC2, QVC3, Racing America, REELZ, REVOLT, RFD-TV, RSNs, Scientology Network, Scripps Sports, Shop LC, Somos Novelas, Spectrum SportsNet, SportsGrid, Start TV, SundanceTV, SYFY, Tastemade Home, Tastemade Travel, TBS, TCM, TeenNick, Telemundo local channels, The First, theGrio, TLC, TNT, truTV, TV Land, TV One, Univision, Up TV, USA Network, VH1, WE tv, Women’s Sports Network
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In 2020, Hulu updated their interface to a much neater version, allowing for one of the easiest and most intuitive Live navigation systems around.
Price: $82.99/month
Free Trial: 3 days
Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Google TV Streamer, iOS, iPhone, LG TV, Nintendo Switch, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV, Vizio Smart TV, Xbox
Channel lineup: A&E, ABC, ABC Localish, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, BET, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS local channels, CBS News, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Cozi TV, CW, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN College Extra, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, Freeform, FS1, FS2, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Golf Channel, Hallmark, Hallmark Mystery, HGTV, History, HLN, ID, Justice Central TV, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, Localish, Military History Chanel, Motor Trend, MSNBC, MTV, NASA, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBC, NBC local channels, NBC News Now, NBCLX, News Nation, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, OWN, Oxygen, Paramount Network, PBS, PBS local channels, Pop, QVC, RSNs, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Spectrum SportsNet, Start TV, SYFY, TBS, TCM, Telemundo, The Grio, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, TVLand, Universal Kids, USA Network, VH1, Vice, Weather Channel
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Youtube TV boasts a wide offering of almost every major channel, unlimited DVR, six accounts, and up to three simultaneous streams. It's the perfect option for families. The cost is a little steep, and there are cheaper options out there, but with a great interface (Live TV services are not known to always have the most intuitive interfaces) and wide availability across devices, it's fair to say that you'll get your dollar's worth.
Price: $72.99/month
Free Trial: 7 days
Device availability: Airplay supported, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Shareplay supported, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox
Channel lineup: ABC, ABC News, ACCN, Adult Swim, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Her, Big Ten Network, Bounce, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS local channels, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar, Cheddar News, CMT, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, Comedy Central, Comedy TV, Comet, Court TV, Cozi TV, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Docurama, Dove Channel, E!, ESPN, ESPN U, ESPN2, ESPNews, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business, Fox News, FOX SOUL, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Weather, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, Galavision, Game Show Network, Get TV, Golf Channel, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Family, Hallmark Mystery, HGTV, HLN, HSN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, ION, Justice Central TV, LAFC Channel, Law & Crime, Live Now, Local Now, Localish, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, MTV 2, MTV Classic, My TV, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBA TV, NBC, NBC local channels, NBC News Now, NBC Universo, NBCLX, NBCSN, NECN, News Nation, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Orlando City Channel, OWN, Oxygen, Oxygen True Crime, Paramount, PBS, PBS Kids, PBS local channels, PC Mag, Pop, popular option, QVC, Recipe.TV, RSNs, Scripps News, Scripps Sports, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, SNY, Start TV, Sundance TV, SYFY, Tastemade, TBS, TCM, Teen Nick, TeleHit, Telemundo local channels, The CW, The Great Courses, The Weather Channel, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, Tru TV, Turner Classic Movies, TV Land, TYT, Unimas, Unimas local channels, Universal Kids, Univision, Univision local channels, USA Network, VH1, WE tv
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Paramount+ with SHOWTIME (previously Paramount+ Premium) is mostly a Netflix-style streaming service, offering movies and TV shows on-demand like The Good Fight and Yellowstone. It gives you access to Live TV from CBS: CBS local channels, CBS News (CBSN), CBS Sports, ET live, and some live sporting events like NFL on CBS Live. It also offers on-demand access to programming from Comedy Central, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Paramount Pictures, and Smithsonian Channel. As of 2023, it increased its monthly price to $11.99, but with that comes a significant upgrade: members now have access to all of Showtime's content, which includes movies and shows like Billions, Dexter, and Yellowjackets, as well as live coverage on sports including boxing, football, and MMA. Since Showtime shut down its standalone service in early 2024, this Paramount+ plan is now one of the few ways to watch Showtime without cable.
Price: $12.99/month
Free Trial: 7 days
Device availability: Airplay supported, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation 4, Portal TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Shareplay supported, Vizio, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Xfinity Flex
Channel lineup: CBS, CBS local channels, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, ET Live
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Formerly HBO Max, Max is a subscription-based on-demand platform that is only available in the US. New subscribers can choose from three monthly tiers ranging from $9.99 (with ads) to $16.99 (no ads) to $20.99 (no ads, plus more concurrent streams, downloads, and 4K streaming). An annual subscription option is also available. When you subscribe, you'll get HBO’s world-class exclusives, such as The Wire and Game of Thrones but Max also functions as a bundle: you'll get content from Discovery, DC, Criterion Collection, Looney Tunes, Studio Ghibli, Turner Classic Movies, and Crunchyroll. And as of September 2023, you will also get a live stream of CNN. It's not a direct 24/7 simulcast of the channel, but many segments of it are broadcast live. Most mobile devices that can stream video support Max, although there is yet no app for Amazon Fire TV and Roku devices.
Price: $9.99/month
Device availability: Airplay supported, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Google TV Streamer, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox
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One important thing to know: ESPN+ will not allow you to watch ESPN channels live. However, it has a lot of on-demand content that has aired on the channels and is a good way to watch some sports live. Namely: UFC events, many soccer leagues (such as LaLiga and Bundesliga), golf, tennis, and MLB. For the price, ESPN+ is worth at least a try if you are a fan of any of these sports.
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What are the best streaming services for college basketball?
You can get streaming services for college basketball with DirecTV Stream, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, Max, or ESPN+.
Ready to cut the cord? Here are the 14 live TV streaming services that offer a free trial.
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The streaming services on this page were chosen by our editors. If you choose to subscribe to a streaming service we recommend as a result of our research, analysis, and curation, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported by an affiliate commission from the streaming service when you make a purchase.