How to watch NCAA college basketball in 2024
The NCAA college basketball season is arguably one of the most exciting times of year for sports fans. With the poise, talent and grace of professional athletes, the best student-athletes in men's and women's basketball compete for a shot at the national championship -- and a love of the game. Now that the first of the First Four games have been played, March Madness 2024 is officially underway.
Figuring out how to watch your favorite college basketball team this season can feel like you're taking final exams without a study guide. We're taking the effort out of that puzzle, and showing you how to watch the 2023-24 NCAA college basketball season, by breaking down the best streaming platforms for CBB fans. We've also got the dish on the best ways to watch March Madness 2024.
How to watch the 2024 NCAA college basketball season without cable
NCAA college basketball this season will air live on ESPN, ESPN+, CBS, FS1, BTN, and the Pac 12 Network, among others.
- The men's First Four games will air March 19-20, 2024 on TruTV.
- The rest of men's March Madness 2024, including the Final Four, will air on CBS and Turner Sports -- which means you'll be able to watch March Madness 2024 on TBS, CBS, TNT and TruTV.
- Women's March Madness 2024, including the Final Four, will air on ESPN and ESPN+.
If you've given up your cable subscription, or your cable provider doesn't include the channels carrying the 2024 NCAA college basketball season, you can subscribe to one of the platforms featured below.
How to watch March Madness 2024: Paramount+ with Showtime
CBS will play host to some of this year's men's March Madness games, which means Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers can stream CBS-aired men's March Madness games live.
The streamer offers access to all college basketball games locally and nationally televised on CBS on all its subscription tiers. In addition, you can watch top-tier soccer like the Champions League live and SEC college football games, plus popular shows such as "Survivor" and "NCIS."
A subscription to Paramount+ with Showtime is $11.99 per month. The streamer offers a seven-day free trial. (You won't be able to stream men's March Madness live with a Paramount+ Essential subscription.)
Stream March Madness: Paramount+ with Showtime free on Amazon Prime Video
Paramount+ content, including men's March Madness 2024, is available to stream on Amazon Prime via a Paramount+ on Prime Video add-on subscription. Prime Video also carries some of the best sports documentaries, including "Kelce," which chronicles Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce's (assumed) last season in the league.
Amazon is offering a seven-day free trial of Paramount+ with Showtime. Tap the button below to start your trial and start streaming now for free. After the free trial period ends, a subscription to the Paramount+ with Showtime tier is $11.99 per month.
Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle: How to stream in-market and out-of-market NCAA college basketball games
You can watch college basketball, including out-of-market games and nationally televised games, with the Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle. The bundle features 95 channels, including ESPN and CBS, and includes ESPN+, so you'll catch out-of-market college basketball games. You'll avoid the blackout games on ESPN+ by watching in-market games on Hulu+ Live TV, which streams your local network feed. Unlimited DVR storage is also included. Watch every local and nationally televised college basketball game on every network this season with Hulu + Live TV/ESPN+ bundle.
Hulu + Live TV comes bundled with ESPN+ and Disney+. It's priced at $77.
Watch local and nationally televised college basketball free with Fubo
If you're new to streaming sports, you should know about Fubo. Fubo is a sports-centric streaming service that offers access to almost every local and nationally televised college basketball game of the season, plus your local TV affiliates, hundreds of cable TV channels and 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage. Another great reason to love Fubo is its lookback feature, which lets you watch sporting events up to 72 hours after they air live. That said, you won't be able to watch out-of-market college basketball games with Fubo.
Start watching NCAA March Madness basketball and also get access to network-aired NFL, NBA and MLB games by starting a seven-day free trial of Fubo. You can begin watching immediately on your TV, phone, tablet or computer. Fubo starts at $80/month for the Pro tier (includes 186 channels).
What you'll get with Fubo Pro Tier:
- There are no contracts with Fubo -- you can cancel at any time.
- The Pro tier includes 199 channels, including NFL Network.
- Fubo includes all the channels you'll need to watch college and pro football, including CBS.
- In addition to NFL football, Fubo offers MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and international soccer games.
- All Fubo tiers come with 1,000 hours of cloud-based DVR recording.
- Stream on your TV, phone and mobile devices.
Save $25 on Sling TV: The most cost-effective way to stream college basketball in 2024
If you don't have cable TV that includes ESPN. TBS, TNN and TruTV, one of the most cost-effective ways to stream live local and nationally televised college basketball this year is through a subscription to Sling TV. The streamer offers access to your local network affiliate's live feed (excluding CBS) and also includes the NFL Network and ESPN with its Orange + Blue Tier plan. Also worth noting: Sling TV comes with 50 hours of cloud-based DVR recording space included, perfect for recording all the season's top NFL matchups.
Right now Sling TV is offering 50% off your first month of service on any tier. That means your first month of Sling TV Orange + Blue is just $30. (You'll pay $60 per month after that, though you can cancel at any time.)
Note: Because men's March Madness 2024 will be broadcast on CBS, you won't be able to watch all men's March Madness 2024 games with a Sling TV subscription. If you're looking to stream the men's tournament, we suggest a subscription to one of the other platforms featured here.
Top features of Sling TV Orange + Blue tier:
- There are 46 channels to watch in total, including local NBC, Fox and ABC affiliates (where available).
- You get access to most local NFL games and nationally broadcast games at the lowest price.
- All subscription tiers include 50 hours of cloud-based DVR storage.
Watch college basketball on Peacock
Peacock offers subscribers live access to Big Ten men's and women's basketball as well as Atlantic 10 women's basketball, in addition to NBC-aired NFL games and any Peacock-exclusive NFL matchups next season. The streaming service has plenty more live sports to offer, including Big Ten football, Premier League soccer and WWE wrestling (including formerly PPV-only events such as Wrestlemania). There are 80,000 hours worth of recorded content to watch as well, including hit movies and TV series such as "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation."
A Peacock subscription costs $6 per month. An annual plan is available for $60 per year. You can cancel anytime.
Top features of Peacock:
- If you only want to watch Big Ten basketball and Atlantic 10 women's basketball, it's your least expensive option. If you want to watch all college basketball on other networks, there are better choices featured in this article.
- Peacock features plenty of current and classic NBC and Bravo TV shows.
Watch March Madness games live with a digital HDTV antenna
You can watch March Madness coverage on network TV with an affordable indoor antenna, which pulls in local over-the-air HDTV channels such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, PBS, Univision and more. Here's the kicker: There's no monthly charge.
For anyone living in a partially blocked-off area (those near mountains or first-floor apartments), a digital TV antenna may not pick up a good signal -- or any signal at all. But for many homes, a digital TV antenna provides a seriously inexpensive way to watch live sports without paying a cable company. Indoor TV antennas can also provide some much-needed TV backup if a storm knocks out your cable.
This amplified digital antenna with a 300-mile range can receive hundreds of HD TV channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS, Fox and Univision, and can filter out cellular and FM signals. It delivers a high-quality picture in 1080p HDTV and top-tier sound. It comes with an 18-foot digital coax cable.
Key dates for the 2024 NCAA men's college tournament
- First Four: Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20, 2024
- First round: Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22
- Second round: Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24
- Sweet 16: Wednesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29
- Elite Eight: Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31
- Final Four: Saturday, April 6
- National championship: Monday, April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Key dates for the 2024 NCAA women's college basketball tournament
- First Four: Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21, 2024
- First round: Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23
- Second round: Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25
- Sweet 16: Thursday, March 29 and Friday, March 30
- Elite Eight: Sunday, March 31 and Monday, April 1
- Final Four: Friday, April 5
- National championship: Sunday, April 7 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio
