How to watch March Madness 2024: stream games online and everything you need to know

UConn's Stephon Castle
UConn's Stephon Castle (Image credit: Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

March Madness is here. The annual college basketball tournaments continues this week and sports fans are going to have the chance to watch just about every game of both the men's and women's brackets.

Watch March Madness

Watching March Madness is basically a rite of spring, so we're making sure that you have all the information that you need so you don’t miss an upset, buzzer-beater or that "one shining moment." This includes some basic info on how to watch the conference tournaments, which will help determine which teams make it into the tournaments.

The top seeds in the men's bracket are UConn, UNC, Houston and Purdue, while earning No. 1 seeds in the women's bracket are South Carolina, Iowa, Texas and USC. Of course, March is made for Cinderellas, so be wary of potential upsets all throughout the bracket.

Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the 2024 March Madness tournament.

How to watch March Madness 2024 in the US

CBS is the flagship home of the men's March Madness tournament, though, just like in recent years, TBS, TNT and TruTV are airing games through the first few rounds of the tournament. 

CBS is available to anyone with a basic cable TV subscription or a TV antenna, but the network is also available on live TV streaming services, including Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV. Games that air on CBS can also be streamed live on Paramount Plus.

TBS, TNT and TruTV are cable channels, also carried by most pay-TV providers, but also by Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV streaming services.

The women's March Madness tournament, meanwhile, has a broadcast home on ESPN and its subsidiary channels. ESPN is another cable channel available on most pay-TV services, including the quartet of FuboTV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.

Though one of the best bang for your buck deals to watch all of March Madness is Sling TV. For as low as $20 per month you can sign up for Sling TV Blue and watch all of the March tournament action that airs on TruTV, TBS, TNT and ESPN.

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Sling TV offers multiple live TV packages that allow you to focus on the content most important to you. Sling Blue brings access to March Madness games. For a limited time, you can get your first month of Sling Blue at halfprice. That's as low as $20 per month. Cancel at any time.

You can also watch multiple games at once on your computer via NCAA.com for the men’s and ESPN.com for the women's, but you need to have a subscription to one of the above services. 

How to watch March Madness 2024 in the UK

We do not have the specific details on if/where March Madness games are going to be available for UK viewers to watch.

In previous years, UK basketball fans could watch the March Madness tournament through ESPN Player. The international streaming service costs £9.99 per month or £69.99 per year, but there is a seven-day free trial available for new subscribers.

March Madness games: Thursday, March 28

Here is the full schedule of March Madness games taking place today, Thursday, March 28, as the Sweet Sixteen begins in the men's bracket:

Men's bracket

  • No. 6 Clemson vs No. 2 Arizona, 7:09 pm ET/4:09 pm PT, CBS
  • No. 5 San Diego State vs No. 1 UConn, 7:39 pm ET/4:39 pm PT, TBS/TruTV
  • No. 4 Alabama vs No. 1 UNC, 9:39 pm ET/6:39 pm PT, CBS
  • No. 3 Illinois vs No. 2 Iowa State, 10:09 pm ET/7:09 pm PT, TBS/TruTV

Women's bracket

  • N/A

March Madness 2024 schedule

Here is the complete schedule for the NCAA tournaments for both the men and women:

NCAA men's basketball tournament schedule
March 17: Selection Sunday
March 19-20: First Four
March 21-22: First Round
March 23-24: Second Round
March 28-29: Sweet Sixteen
March 30-31: Elite Eight
April 6: Final Four
April 8: National Championship

NCAA women's basketball tournament schedule
March 17: Selection Sunday
March 20-21: First Four
March 22-23: First Round
March 24-25: Second Round
March 29-30: Sweet Sixteen
March 31-April 1: Elite Eight
April 5: Final Four
April 7: National Championship

March Madness 2024 bracket

Keep up with the official, interactive men's and women's brackets via NCAA.com.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.