How to watch March Madness 2024: The best streaming options (2024)

Pros

• Inexpensive

Cons

• Only offers CBS games

With Paramount+, you can watch some, but not all, of March Madness. This streaming service only offers the CBS games. For some reason -- and I really don't get this -- you'll only be able to watch games with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan.

The Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year. You'll also need to pay any applicable taxes. This is an ad-free offering, but you'll still be stuck with commercials because the games are shown live.

You also won't be able to skip those ads. Paramount+ doesn't have a cloud DVR service, so you'll need to watch the games in real time. At least when the games are available from the broadcaster, they'll be in HD and 60 frames per second.

Pros

• Inexpensive

Cons

• Only offers the Turner network games

Max, which will always be HBO Max to me, is -- surprisingly enough -- a decent choice for watching the men's tournament. Max allows you to watch the games on TNT, TBS, and truTV via its free B/R sports add-on.

For March Madness, Max is offering 40% off all three of its plans if you pay for a year up front, whether you're a new, existing, or returning customer. That will drop the plan with ads to $70 for the year (compared to the typical $100), the ad-free plan to $105 (from $150), and the Ultimate ad-free with 4K plan to $140 (from $200). (Of course, for the March Madness games, you're stuck with commercials regardless.)

With the first two plans, you can stream to two devices simultaneously. With the 4K service, you can stream to four devices simultaneously.

Pros

• Great DVR

Cons

• Pricier

Hulu with Live TV's combination of on-demand video and live TV is nice, and it also comes with Disney+ and ESPN+ bundled. For $83 per month, you'll get your local CBS channel, TBS, TNT, and truTV. With the ESPN+ bundle, you can get all of the 2023 March Madness games.

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Another plus is you'll be able to store an unlimited number of videos in your cloud DVR archive for up to nine months.

Pros

• Excellent DVR and great multi-device support

Cons

• Expensive

DirecTV Stream has undergone several name changes. In the past, it was AT&T TV, AT&T TV Now, and DirecTV Now. Whatever you call it, you'll get CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV on even its cheapest level, the $79.99 Entertainment package.

This package includes ESPN and ESPN2 for the women's games. But if your favorite team isn't one of the top teams, its games may be on ESPNU or ESPNews and you'll need to upgrade to the $108.99 DirecTV Stream Choice package.

Also:The 5 best sports streaming services

DIRECTV upscales some sports events to 4K. You can manually adjust the content to "Best", "Better", or "Good" across devices. I don't recommend this approach. When I tried it, I saw streaming slowdowns and odd video artifacts.

The good news is that DirecTV Stream now comes with generous unlimited Cloud DVR storage. You can watch the game or any other show on up to 20 streaming devices at home simultaneously. Away from home, you can share your stream with three other devices. The video will be in HD.

Pros

• Inexpensive

Cons

• Choosing the right mix of services can be complicated

Sling TV's à la carte approach to channels separates it from competitors. I like being able to pick and choose channels, but I know some people find it more confusing than useful.

While the other services tend to offer only two to four packages, Sling TV offers two basic packages -- Blue and Orange -- and a wide variety of packages bundling up to a dozen related channels. However, CBS isn't in any of them. You'll need an antenna for your local CBS channel or a Paramount+ subscription for those games.

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Sling TV's $40-a-month Blue plan includes TBS, TNT, and truTV. If you want the main ESPN channels and the women's tournament, you'll need Sling TV's Orange plan, which costs $40 monthly. Combined, Sling Orange and Blue will cost you $55 a month. You can use this combo to watch games on TBS, TNT, truTV, and the main ESPN channels. You'll need the Sports Extra package for $11 monthly to watch the less well-known ESPN channels.

Sling TV's default cloud DVR offers 50 hours for free. If you need more -- and who doesn't? -- you can upgrade to 200 hours for $5 a month. The video is shown in 720p HDTV. With a Sling Orange plan, you can only watch a single stream. But, if you have a Sling Blue plan, you can watch shows on three devices simultaneously. The combined package means you can stream your shows on up to four devices.

Pros

• Excellent DVR

Cons

• The ever-increasing price

With over 100 channels, YouTube TV offers more popular channels than its competitors. YouTube TV costs $72.99 per month, and includes all the relevant ESPN channels, CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV.

By CNET's count, out of the top 100 live TV networks, YouTube TV offers the most, 77, of any streaming service. YouTubeTV's DVR is also outstanding. With it, you can record as many shows as you like. The only restriction is that they'll disappear after nine months. I can live with that. I'm sure you can, too.

Also:Did your TV streaming bill just go up again? Here's why I chose YouTube TV

With YouTube TV's base plan, you can stream content to three devices simultaneously. For an additional $19.99 per month, the 4K Plus add-on plan gives you both unlimited streams at home and, when available, 4K video.

YouTubeTV has unlimited cloud storage and you get six accounts to share with your household.

Pros

• Other sports coverage

Cons

• Not the right service for March Madness

FuboTV is all about sports. But sadly, it's not a great choice for March Madness. That's because while its starter plan, FuboTV Pro, has over 100 channels and 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage for $80 per month, it doesn't offer TBS, TNT, and truTV. It only includes ABC, CBS, and the main ESPN channels.

For NCAA Women March Madness watchers, to catch every game, you'll need to get the Fubo Elite package, which includes ESPNews and ESPNU, for $85 per month.