Fans of March Madness will have more streaming choices than ever before this year.
Thanks to TNT Sports’ sister streaming platform Max (formerly HBOMAX), streaming this year’s NCAA Tournament will be an option for those without traditional cable or popular live streaming services such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live.
Max, via its B/R Sports add-on, will offer subscribers live streams of NCAA Tournament games that are selected for broadcast on TNT, TBS, and truTV — the latter of which will televise Clemson’s first-round matchup against New Mexico Friday.
The Tigers and Lobos are scheduled for a 3:10 p.m. EDT tipoff from Memphis’ FedExForum. Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel and Jon Rothstein will have the call of the game for truTV.
truTV and TNT will combine to broadcast 25 games total — 13 on truTV and 12 on TNT. TBS will broadcast 21 games. Those combined 46 games will be available via the Max app on both smartphones and other smart devices. The Final Four, as well as the national championship game on April 8, will be televised by TBS.
CBS will broadcast 21 games. Games televised by CBS will not be available for streaming on the Max app, however. Viewers looking for CBS games can still find them via the network’s streaming partner Paramount+, which recently streamed CBS’ coverage of Super Bowl LVIII.
Next year, part of the NCAA Tournament will be shown for the first time on the new, yet-to-be-named joint venture streaming service that will combine TNT Sports (formerly Turner Sports), ESPN, and Fox Sports.
That streaming service — often referred to as “Spulu” in many online circles — will still exclude CBS broadcasts, which aren’t involved in the TNT/ESPN/Fox alliance. The joint venture between TNT, ESPN and Fox is scheduled to debut this fall.
The NCAA also offers streaming of the tournament via its March Madness Live app or NCAA.com.
Live audio
Fans that are in the car or on the go and want to be able to listen to NCAA Tournament radio broadcasts can do so with a subscription to SiriusXM satellite radio, which offers complete play-by-play of all tournament games.
Clemson vs. New Mexico will be broadcast on SiriusXM channel 202 Friday. Full channel assignments are available at siriusxm.com/sports.
SiriusXM broadcasts the tournament via the NCAA’s national radio feed, Westwood One. Fans hoping to listen to team-specific broadcasts, like those that air on the Clemson Athletic Network, will have to tune in to their local radio affiliate or visit an affiliate’s official website.