When will you watch the Final Four?
- Friday, April 3 (women)
- Saturday, April 4 (men)
Where can you watch
- The men’s Final Four will air on TNT, TBS and truTV and air on HBO Max.
- The women’s Final Four will be broadcast on ESPN and streamed on ESPN Unlimited.
It hosts all the March Madness channels
DirecTV MySports package
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NCAA March Madness has reached its final week. In the men’s tournament, the No. 1 seed Florida Gators. 1 was knocked out of the competition by No. 9 Iowa, which means it won’t win a second straight title this year. No. 1 seed Duke again fell to No. 2 Conn during their Elite Eight game, when UConn’s Braylon Mullins hit a game-tying three-pointer to win the game. That means the teams heading to the Final Four are Illinois, Duke, Michigan and Arizona. In the women’s tournament, defending champion and No. 1 seed UConn is in it for the win, and the rest of the Final Four features No. 1 seeds: Texas, South Carolina and UCLA round out the remaining teams.
The men’s Final Four begins on Saturday, and games will be broadcast on TNT, TBS and TruTV. It will air on HBO Max. The Women’s Final Four is Friday, airing on ESPN and streaming on ESPN Unlimited.
Here’s a breakdown of all the teams playing, how to watch the Final Four and everything else you need to know.
When is March Madness 2026?
March Madness 2026 began on March 17. The Women’s Final Four is on April 3, and the tournament final is scheduled for Sunday, April 5. The Men’s Final Four is on April 4 and the championship game is on Monday, April 6.
Watch March Madness without cable
The Women’s Final Four is available on ESPN and streamed on ESPN Unlimited. The Men’s Final Four will air on TNT, TBS, and truTV and stream on HBO Max.
ESPN Unlimited is ESPN’s all-inclusive independent streaming service. For $30 a month, you can watch every March Madness women’s game all in one place. Read our ESPN Unlimited review.
With HBO Max, you can stream 46 games in the men’s March Madness tournament, including the Final Four and the Championship Final. And with the HBO Max multi-viewing experience, you can stream up to three machups at once. Live shows are only available on HBO Max’s Standard ($18.50 per month) and Premium ($23 per month) plans.
You’ll be able to watch select games from the First Round through the Elite Eight live on CBS, which is broadcast via Paramount Plus Premium and costs $14 a month.
Watch March Madness with a live TV streaming service
Don’t want to subscribe to multiple streaming services to watch March Madness? That is understandable. There are quite a few live TV streaming services where you can watch many or all of the men’s and women’s competitions all in one place. Each of them offers a free trial.
Men’s games will air on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV, while women’s games will air on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. With a subscription to DirecTV, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, you can watch all the channels broadcasting the men’s and women’s competitions.
We’ll note that Fubo offers major sporting events and includes access to ESPN Unlimited. It doesn’t carry TBS, TNT or TruTV, making it the worst option for watching the men’s championship.
YouTube TV costs $83 a month and includes CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV for men’s sports and ESPN channels for women’s sports. Right now, you can sign up for YouTube TV and get your first two months for $60/month, and there’s a 21-day free trial.
Not all local channels are available in all markets, so you will need to make sure that the networks broadcasting the 2026 tournament are available in your area. Plug in your ZIP code to its welcome page to see what local networks you get.
Read our YouTube TV review.
Hulu with Live TV costs $90 a month and includes all the channels you need to watch both March Madness tournaments. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under “Can I watch local news in my area?” query at the bottom of the page to see what local stations you are receiving.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
DirecTV’s MySports package costs $70 a month and includes ABC, CBS, ESPN Unlimited, TBS, TNT and TruTV, which means it’s one of the most extensive places to watch every March Madness game. Use the channel lookup tool to see what local stations are available where you live. Read our DirecTV MySports review.
The Fubo sports package costs $46 for your first month after the free trial. Like the main Fubo packages, it offers ABC, CBS and a subscription to ESPN Unlimited. Fubo’s Pro plan costs $74 per month and includes ABC, CBS and access to ESPN Unlimited. Fubo is currently offering the first month for $49 on the Pro plan. Click here to see what local channels you receive.
Read our Fubo review.
For more, check out our guide to live TV streaming services and our recommendations for the best sports streaming services.
March Madness tournament schedule:
March Madness men’s schedule
- Fourth First: Tuesday-Wednesday
- First round: Thursday-Friday
- Second round: Saturday-Sunday
- Sweet 16: March 26-27
- Elite Eight: March 28-29
- Final Four: April 4
- NCAA Championship Game: April 6, 8:30 pm ET (TBS)
Women’s March Madness schedule
- Fourth First: Wednesday-Thursday
- First round: Friday-Saturday
- Second round: Sunday-Monday
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: April 3 at 7 pm ET (The second semifinal begins 30 minutes after the end of the first game.)
- NCAA championship game: April 5 at 3:30 pm ET (ABC)
March Madness men’s individual game schedule:
All Eastern times. For completed games, the winning team is in bold.
The Final Four
Saturday, April 4
- 6:09 p.m.: No. 2 Conn vs. No. 3 Illinois (TNT, TBS, truTV)
- 9pm: No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 1 Arizona (TNT, TBS, truTV)
March Madness women’s game schedule:
All Eastern times.
The Final Four
Friday, April 3
- 7pm: No. 1 Conn vs. No. 1 South Carolina (ESPN)
- 9:30 pm: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 1 Texas (ESPN)
