March Madness 2023 games are officially scheduled to start on March 14th with the First Four, then we get three weeks of following our NCAA brackets. You can watch all the games on TBS, CBS, TNT, and truTV. Not many services carry the truTV channel, so we’re going to highlight the best TV providers to subscribe with for your March Madness entertainment. Here’s a breakdown of the schedule:
Selection Sunday: March 12 First Four: March 14 and March 15 First round: March 16 and March 17 Second round: March 18 and March 19 Sweet 16: March 23 and March 24 Elite Eight: March 25 and March 26 Final Four: April 1 NCAA championship game: April 3
If you don’t have cable or satellite TV, we highly recommend YouTube TV as it is the one of the best all-around live TV streaming services. DIRECTV STREAM includes premium channels in its plans, and it’s basically a streamable version of DIRECTV. If you want cable TV, Xfinity is the best cable TV provider because of its fair pricing and wide availability. If you still want a traditional TV experience and possibly don’t have a decent cable TV provider available in your area, satellite TV providers DISH and DIRECTV are there for you. If you’re betting on Gonzaga or Arizona to win it all, we’re going to guess you want to consider subscribing to one of these TV providers. But let us highlight more reasons why we like YouTube TV so much. YouTube TV has an excellent dollar-to-channel ratio. You’ll get major sports channels like NBA TV and NFL Network, you’ll get a variety of channels for the family, and its DVR has unlimited storage space. YouTube TV also offers an NBA LEAGUE PASS subscription for $14.99/month or $49.99 for the whole season. Check out our YouTube TV review to find more information about the benefits you can enjoy after watching how far USC, Duke, Michigan State, and TCU get. View Plans | Read Full YouTube TV Review The Popular TV package includes a total of nine sports channels. These channels include ESPN, ESPN 2, and FS1. The price starts at around $50 per month and has slightly fewer channels than the Ultimate TV plan. Xfinity’s Ultimate TV plan offers everything that the Popular TV option gets you, with all the other major sports channels as well. Find out what other channels are included in your lineup in our Xfinity TV review, but Xfinity will have you covered when it comes to March Madness. View Plans | Read Full Xfinity TV Review At first glance, DISH’s and DIRECTV’s pricing looks very similar, but DISH doesn’t increase its monthly pricing the second year or require contracts. This is why we choose DISH as the best satellite TV provider. We got you covered if you need help deciding which DISH plan you should get, but all plans come with family favorites like Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, HGTV, and Nickelodeon. Take a look at our DISH review for information, but trust us when we say, DISH will allow you to watch all of the March Madness games while you’re working from home. View Plans | Read Full DISH TV Review This live TV streaming service has all four channels airing March Madness games in all of its plans, so you just have to decide which plan is best for you after the event is over. When you get CHOICE and above, you’ll get three free months of HBO Max, MGM+, STARZ, SHOWTIME, and CINEMAX. But if you go with the PREMIER package, you’ll get STARZ, SHOWTIME, and CINEMAX channels in your lineup. We’d be remiss to not mention that DIRECTV STREAM is our last option for live TV streaming because its dollar-to-channel ratio is higher than the rest, but if you’d a tradition TV feel, DIRECTV STREAM is your service. View Plans | Read Full DIRECTV STREAM Review But there will come a point when the Madness ends. You’ll get MLB Network with ULTIMATE and PREMIER. And you’ll likely want the Golf Channel and Tennis Channel to watch the tournaments throughout the year. But the one feature DIRECTV has that no other TV provider in the industry has is NFL SUNDAY TICKET. NFL SUNDAY TICKET is your ticket to all of the out-of-market NFL games straight to your TV. If you’re a Kansas City Chiefs fan but live in Salt Lake City, you’ll want this subscription to watch the full Chiefs game every weekend of the NFL season. If you order CHOICE or above, you’ll get a free season subscription to this glorious sports add-on. View Plans | Read Full DIRECTV Review
YouTube TV: YouTube TV has all four channels that will be airing March Madness games, and it’s a live TV streaming service you’ll want all year long for $65 per month. You’ll get over 85 channels the whole family will enjoy and an unlimited DVR storage space so you can record all of the NCAA tournament games. Xfinity TV: Xfinity TV is the best cable TV provider for March Madness watchers since you’ll be getting CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV in your channel lineup. For $50 per month, you’ll get 125 channels of entertainment, sports, kids, and lifestyle. But we recommend considering the monthly fees you’ll have to pay with Xfinity before committing. DISH: As the cheapest satellite TV option ($79.99–$109.99 per month), you’ll get all four March Madness channels in any of the packages. We can help you pick a package that best fits your family’s needs, but we recommend America’s Top 200 because this plan will get you close to 30 sports channels. DIRECTV STREAM: DIRECTV STREAM is the second-best to YouTube TV to stream March Madness because of its high pricing ($74.99–$154.99 per month). You can get CBS, TBS, TNT, and TruTV for $75 per month, but you’ll only get 75 channels. YouTube TV is the same price and gives you 10 more channels. But DIRECTV STREAM does include free premium channels. DIRECTV: DIRECTV is our last option for March Madness-watching because of the same two reasons as DIRECTV STREAM: pricing ($64.99–$154.99 per month). DIRECTV’s pricing could be worth it for those March Madness fans who are also NFL fans and would love to subscribe to NFL SUNDAY TICKET to watch all out-of-market NFL games.
