When to watch Selection Sunday
- Sunday, March 15, at 6 pm ET (3 pm PT) for men
- Sunday, March 15, at 8 pm ET (5 pm PT) for women
Where can you watch
- The Men’s Selection Show is on Paramount Plus Premium
- The Women’s Choice Show is on ESPN
It carries TBS, TNT, truTV, CBS, ABC, and ESPN for $60 a month
YouTube TV
It carries all the channels you need to watch March Madness for $70 a month
DirecTV MySports Base Pack
It carries ABC, CBS and ESPN for $85 a month
Fubo
Show more (1 item)
It’s almost time for NCAA March Madness. It’s been nearly a year since the Florida Gators won the men’s basketball championship and the UConn Huskies won the women’s title, and both teams appear poised to make a splash in their 2026 NCAA Tournaments. But before we start speculating who will take it all this year, we need to find out which teams will be playing in March Madness, all leading up to Selection Sunday, when the top 68 teams in the men’s and women’s leagues will be revealed.
If you want to watch this year’s Selection Show, the men’s will air on CBS and air on Paramount Plus Premium on Sunday, March 15 at 6 pm ET/3 pm PT, and the women’s will air on ESPN at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. If it’s the games you’re looking for, the first four will start both tournaments on March 17 (men’s) and March 18 (women’s); brackets will be set after Sunday’s selection announcements, but for now, we have the full schedule for the entire round below.
With so many games airing on so many channels and streaming services, we’re here to help you find the best ways to watch or stream all of March Madness. Here’s what you need to know.
When is Selection Sunday?
Selection Sunday is March 15, 2026.
How to watch Selection Sunday
March Madness begins with the selection show, where the teams that have entered the tournament are announced. With all major college basketball conference tournaments wrapping up on or before March 15, that’s the day we’ll find out which 68 teams will participate in the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments. This year’s Selection Show for the men’s championship airs Sunday, March 15 at 6 pm ET on CBS and airs on Paramount Plus Premium. You can also catch the Women’s Selection Show Sunday night at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN.
When does March Madness 2026 start?
March Madness 2026 officially begins on March 17 with the first four men’s games. The women’s First Four will begin on March 18.
How to watch March Madness
Women’s March Madness games will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. The women’s championship final will be broadcast on ABC and streamed on ESPN Unlimited.
ESPN Unlimited is ESPN’s all-inclusive independent streaming service. For $30/month, you can watch every March Madness women’s game all in one place.
Read our ESPN Unlimited review.
Men’s March Madness games will be split between TNT, TBS, truTV and CBS.
You’ll be able to watch select games from the First Round through the Elite Eight live on CBS, which airs on Paramount Plus Premium for $14 a month.
HBO Max
Watch men’s sports on HBO Max for $18.49 per month
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 HBO Max’s Multiview experience, you can stream up to three matchups at once. Live shows are only available on HBO Max’s Standard ($18.49 per month) and Premium ($22.99 per month) plans.
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. Fortunately, there are several streaming TV services where you can watch many or all of the men’s and women’s tournaments all in one place.
Men’s games will air on TBS, TNT, truTV and CBS, while women’s games will air on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews. By subscribing to YouTube TV, DirecTV or Hulu with Live TV, you can watch all channels broadcasting the men’s and women’s competitions. (Unfortunately, while Fubo is still ready to watch tons of major sporting events and includes access to ESPN Unlimited, it doesn’t carry TBS, TNT or truTV, making it a very poor option for watching the men’s championship.)
YouTube TV costs $83/month and includes TBS, TNT, truTV and CBS for the men’s tournament and ESPN channels for the women’s tournament. 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 the same per month as YouTube TV 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, TBS, TNT, truTV and ESPN Unlimited, which means it’s one of the widest areas to watch every March Madness game. Use the channel lookup tool to see what local stations are available where you live.
Read our DirecTV Stream review.
Fubo’s Pro plan costs $74 per month and includes ABC, CBS and access to ESPN Unlimited. Fubo currently offers the first month for $49. Click here to see what local channels you receive. While Fubo is a great way to watch the women’s tournament, the service doesn’t carry TBS, TNT or truTV, which you’ll need to watch most of the men’s games.
Read our Fubo review.
For more, check out our guide to live TV streaming services and our recommendations for the best sports streaming services.
How to watch March Madness 2026 for free
The NCAA’s March Madness Live site and the March Madness Live app are great options for watching the games for free. You can watch March Madness Live on iOS and Android devices as well as Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Xbox, but you the will you must sign in with a valid TV provider login.
You can also use a home antenna connected to your TV to watch broadcasts on ABC and CBS. Our comparison of household sticks can help you find the right one, and our top picks come in at $40.
Want to watch March Madness with no strings attached? One of the best ways we know of to watch the men’s and women’s tournaments is to sign up for a free 21-day trial of YouTube TV, which will last long enough to see all the games.
March Madness tournament schedule
Here are the complete schedules for the men’s and women’s tournaments:
March Madness men’s schedule
- Selection Sunday: March 15, 2026
- Fourth First: March 17-18, 2026
- First Round: March 19-20, 2026
- Second round: March 21-22, 2026
- Sweet 16: March 26-27, 2026
- Elite Eight: March 28-29, 2026
- Final Four: Saturday, April 4, 2026
- National Championship: Monday, April 6, 2026, 8:30 pm ET (TBS)
Women’s March Madness schedule
- Selection Sunday: March 15 on ESPN
- Fourth First: March 18-19, 2026
- First round: March 20-21, 2026
- Second round: March 22-23, 2026
- Sweet 16: March 27-28, 2026
- Elite Eight: March 29-30, 2026
- Final Four: Friday, April 3 at 7 pm (The second semifinal starts 30 minutes after the end of the first game.)
- NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 5 at 3:30 pm ET (ABC)
