How to Watch March Madness Online

Live Stream March Madness 2020 Online

Watching March Madness has never been easier, especially if you’ve gotten the hang of using live TV streaming services. 

If you haven’t, no worries. 

You don’t need to be a cord cutting expert to start watching games using a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, or even your smartphone of choice. This guide will quickly summarize all of the ways you can easily watch NCAA Tournament games either for free or without a pricey cable TV or satellite subscription.

Given that you can’t actually go watch a game in person because of Coronavirus, learning how to live stream March Madness has become pretty crucial this year. 

What channels do you need to watch March Madness 2020?

All 67 games will be split among the same four channels that you needed in years past: CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV. 

Cord Cutting Options for March Madness 2020

Here is a quick cheat sheet of your options for watching March Madness games on CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV without a cable TV or satellite subscription. Links to the channel lineups will show what local or regional sports networks are available in your area.

Each live TV streaming service is broken down in more detail detail after this summary.

Sling Blue (47+ channel lineup) has TBS, TNT and truTV, but lacks CBS. A one-month subscription is $20. Regular price is $30 per month. There is a free 7-day trial. But the real bargain is when you pay for a brief, two-month subscription so you get a free streaming device or TV antenna.

fuboTV (100+ channel lineup) has everything you need for March Madness 2020 — CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV — and a lot more. New customers can sign up for a free 7-day trial. fuboTV has a dozens of entertainment and sports channels, 30 hours of Cloud DVR and a huge on-demand library of movies. A subscription costs $54.99 per month.

YouTube TV (75+ channel lineup) has CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV for $49.99 per month. A subscription has unlimited Cloud DVR.

Hulu with Live TV (65+ channel lineup) has all four channels, including your local CBS station. There’s ESPN and regional FOX Sports networks as well. Subscribers get the added on-demand library that people usually pay $5.99 per month for. So if you’re already a subscriber to Hulu’s on-demand library, the Live TV option probably makes the most sense. 

AT&T TV Now (45+ channel lineup) has CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV in the Plus package. This bundle is the cheapest one, and includes HBO, for $45 per month. It includes 20 hours of Cloud DVR. 

CBS All Access has a live stream for all games broadcast on local CBS stations. A subscription is $5.99 per month. 

Watch March Madness games free using a TV antenna

CBS is the only over-the-air option for watching March Madness games free. Getting CBS is a big deal because you’ll see some big games during the first and second rounds. And all regional games are scheduled to air on CBS, too.

If you live near any large city, there’s a really good chance that you can get a number of HD channels (including CBS) for free. You just need to connect a TV antenna to the coax port in the rear of your TV and scan for over-the-air channels under settings.

You can use AntennaWeb and punch in your zip code to see if there are towers in your area. Read my review on the Best Indoor TV Antennas for more tips.

Can I use the March Madness Live app to watch games for free?

Games airing on CBS will be free on the March Madness Live app. The free CBS games are only available on a computer or mobile device (iOS or Android).

Want to watch on a TV, or a game from another channel?  You will need to have a cable subscription to activate the March Madness Live app for that.

Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV subscribers can activate the March Madness Live app to unlock access to all 67 games. 

Sling TV: Watch March Madness Online

The cheapest route to live streaming most March Madness games is using the Sling TV’s Blue channel bundle.

Sling Blue carries TNT, TBS and truTV as part of a 47+ channel bundle. A Sling Blue subscription includes Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, IFC, A&E and Comedy Central.

Sling TV has no deal with CBS. So you can either get by with March Madness Live app. I prefer using a reliable TV antenna. 

My guide How to Choose the Best TV antenna & DVR has some quick tips on choosing the right TV antenna.

Sling TV is supported by pretty much every streaming device, including Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Chromecast. Sling TV offers 50 hours of Cloud DVR for an extra $5 per month.

Get a free trial with Sling TV for a week. You can also get a free streaming device if you pay for a brief subscription.

Cancel it online if you don’t like the service. Unlike cable, there’s no contract or obscure fees attached to the service.

Hulu with Live TV for streaming March Madness 

Hulu’s Live TV package has 65+ live channels, including local CBS, NBC and FOX stations. There’s ESPN, ESPN2 and ACC Network for sports. Bravo, Discovery and Food Network are part of the entertainment channel lineup. 

Hulu lets you activate almost 40 apps on a Roku or other streaming device. You can also use your Hulu with Live TV account to activate the March Madness app.

Subscribers get 50 hours of Cloud DVR and access to Hulu’s on-demand library. Yep, that’s the same library that people pay $5.99 per month for. A subscription costs $54.99 per month. Look over the what local and regional sports channels are available before deciding whether to sign up. 

fuboTV: Watch March Madness Online

fuboTV has 100+ channels, including TNT, TBS, truTV and local NBC, CBS and FOX networks. 

If you miss a game, fuboTV has “look back”, an on-demand feature that recordings of all sports that aired in the last 72 hours.

fuboTV is currently showing games in 4K from the Big Ten Tournament and Big East Tournament. It’s the only live TV streaming service that has been showing select sporting and entertainment events in 4K. 

A fuboTV subscription comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR to record whatever you want. You can look at fuboTV’s channel lineup or get a free 7-day trial. There are no contracts, or hidden fees. Watch March Madness on a Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, PC or smart phone. A subscription costs $44.99 per month.

YouTube TV: Live Stream March Madness without cable

YouTube TV is a reliable choice for live streaming March Madness games at home or on the go.

The 75+ channel lineup includes AMC, Cartoon Network, ESPN, FS1, FS2, Sundance TV and USA. Subscribers get unlimited Cloud DVR included so you can watch a game on your own schedule if you can’t catch it live.

YouTube TV supports live streaming on Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast and all Xbox One models. Amazon Fire TV and the Amazon Fire Stick is not supported by YouTube TV. A subscription costs $40 per month.

You can use your YouTube account to sign in to the March Madness Live app. You can try out YouTube TV free for 7-days.

AT&T TV Now: Live Stream March Madness without cable

AT&T TV Now has 45 channels in the Plus package, including HBO. The service has apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV (4^th generation), Chromecast and Chrome and Safari web browsers.

New customers can check out AT&T TV Now with free 7-day trial.

Does CBS All Access have March Madness games?

Yes, CBS All Access has a live stream in about 200 markets across the U.S. You can subscribe to CBS All Access for $5.99 per month, and get a free 7-day trial to watch NCAA games that air on CBS. CBS All Access works with Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iPhones and Android devices.

What’s the best way to stream March Madness without Cable?

There are a lot of choices to watch March Madness live without a cable subscription. Here are my top three picks.

• Sling TV is the cheapest option around at $25 per month. Sling Blue gets you TNT, TBS and TruTV. But you’ll need another way to watch games on CBS. Try out Sling TV free for a week or pay for a brief subscription to get a free streaming device or antenna.
• Hulu with Live TV has all your networks for March Madness, and carries more local CBS stations than any other live TV streaming service. Hulu’s Live TV service has 60+ live channels for $54.99 per month. Subscribers can live stream NCAA games on the Hulu app or March Madness app. And you get access to Hulu’s on-demand library that people pay $5.99 per month for. Hulu with Live TV supports Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast and Xbox One  
• fuboTV is my runner-up pick because it has all the networks to watch March Madness, including CBS. And its unique “look back” feature lets you catch up on games that you missed. fuboTV costs $44.99 per month and comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR. fuboTV has a solid mobile app, and works on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV and Android TV devices. Get a free 7-day trial of fuboTV.

How are you going to watch March Madness without cable? Are you going to live stream the NCAA Tournament or use a TV antenna? Tell fellow readers in the comments below. Head over to the main page of The Cord Cutting Report for more tips on streaming.