How to watch March Madness: Live stream the 2025 men's and women's tournaments
The men's and momen's NCAA basketball tournaments have tipped off, and we'll show you how to watch March Madness from home.
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March Madness is back for another year, and the men's and women's teams have already showcased some top-notch talent in this month's conference tournaments. We've compiled absolutely everything you need to know about how to watch March Madness, including cable and live streaming options for the men's and women's tournaments.
The 2024 March Madness tournament saw victory for the UConn men's team and the South Carolina women's team. Both schools made it back into the tournament this year, although the men's Huskies had a less than stellar record. While the women's Gamecocks couldn't repeat their undefeated season from last year, they still had a great regular season under longtime coach Dawn Staley and are the no. 2 overall seed this year. This year's top men's seeds are Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida. In addition to South Carolina, all eyes at this year's women's tournament are on UConn, USC, UCLA, and Texas.
Below, cord-cutters can find several different live streaming options for the tournament. Since the men's and women's tournaments air on different channels, we've highlighted streaming services that will help you watch each tournament. Plus, we'll recommend one of the best live TV streaming services out there so you can watch every single game (men's and women's) in one place.
What channels air March Madness games?
The men's and women's March Madness tournaments air on completely different channels. Women's games air on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, ESPNU, and ESPNews, and men's games air on TNT, TBS, truTV, and CBS. Below, we've highlighted some of the best sports streaming services to watch the games on.
How to watch March Madness in the US
If you're hoping to watch absolutely every single game from March Madness, including every round from the men's and women's tournaments, DirecTV Stream is the way to go. DirecTV Stream's signature Choice plan carries TNT, TBS, truTV, CBS, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC in its 125+ channel lineup. Subscriptions cost $115/month, but you can get your first three months for $90/month. Plus, all subscriptions come with a five-day free trial.
DirecTV Stream also recently rolled out a new genre pack, MySports, which features 25+ key sports channels. At $70/month, it's cheaper than DirecTV Stream's signature packages, although a few channels might be missing or subject to regional availability. MySports carries ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, TNT, truTV, and TBS, among other channels. ABC is available in select regions, and CBS isn't available in the package. MySports also includes a subscription to ESPN Plus.
If you only want to watch the women's tournament, Sling TV or Fubo can help you. Select games from the women's tournament will also be live streamed on ESPN Plus and Disney Plus.
Sling is the cheapest way to live stream the entire women's tournament. You'll need to opt for Sling Orange to access ESPN and ESPN2 (in addition to 33 other live channels) for $46/month. From there, you'll need to subscribe to the Sports Extra add-on to unlock ESPNU and ESPNews (and several other live sports channels) for an additional $11/month. Games on ABC also often air on ESPN3, which is included with Sling Orange, so you should be covered for the full tournament. New users get $23 off their first month of service.
Fubo is another service that can help you out for the women's tournament. Fubo's Elite plan carries ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPNews, in addition to 200+ other live channels. Subscriptions cost $95/month, but you can get $30 off your first month after a seven-day free trial.
If you only want to watch the men's tournament and want something cheaper than DirecTV Stream, you can subscribe to Paramount Plus to access CBS games and Max to access Warner Bros. games (TNT, TBS, truTV). For Paramount Plus, you'll need to subscribe to the Paramount Plus with Showtime tier for $13/month. This unlocks CBS live streaming and ad-free on-demand content. For Max, you'll need to subscribe to the Max with Ads tier for $17/month. This unlocks sports live streaming and ad-free on-demand content.
Sling TV Blue will also feature all men's games that air on Warner Bros. networks, including TNT, TBS, and truTV. Sling Blue offers 40+ live channels for $46/month ($51 in select areas). While the Blue plan offers local channels in select regions, CBS isn't apart of the lineup, so we recommend also subscribing to Paramount Plus with Showtime if you're hoping to watch the entirety of the men's tournament. New users get 50% off their first month of service.
How to watch March Madness from anywhere
If you'll be traveling outside the US at any point during March Madness, you'll want to invest in a VPN (virtual private network). VPNs are easy-to-use cybersecurity tools that let you change your virtual location. That way, your usual websites and apps work just like they would back home. Since the services we've highlighted today require US methods of payment, this will work best for Americans who are just abroad at the moment.
ExpressVPN is our go-to recommendation. It's a user-friendly option with a 30-day money-back guarantee, plus tons of other perks, which you can read about in our ExpressVPN review. Keep reading to learn how to use a VPN.
How to watch March Madness with a VPN
- Sign up for a VPN if you don't have one.
- Install it on the device you're using to watch the games.
- Turn it on and set it to a US location.
- Sign up for one of the above streaming services.
- Enjoy March Madness.
Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.
