Watching March Madness hasn’t always been easy. With games spread out across four networks — CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV — you often would have had to pay for a cable, satellite or streaming TV package if you wanted to catch all the action. Not so this year.
With the large slate of first-round action set to kick off Thursday, it’s time to start focusing on how to watch all the madness as it happens. In 2024, you need only two streaming services for March Madness, for less than $30 total: Max with Ads and Paramount Plus with Showtime.
Together, the two will run you $22 for the month of the tournament, which includes the First Four play-in games (on TruTV), the rest of the tourney on all four networks, and eventually the Final 4, with the championship game (on TBS) on April 8.
Max (with ads) runs $10 per month and carries live sports from the Turner networks (TNT, TBS, TruTV) as part of its B/R Sports add-on, while Paramount Plus with Showtime comes in at $12 per month and offers live CBS feeds (the cheaper Paramount Plus Essential plan does not offer live March Madness games). Neither have contracts, so should you want to cancel once the tournament’s over, you could easily do so.
For those considering getting Max at the cheaper annual rate, the streaming service is offering a new deal through April 9 that takes over 40% off the regular price if you’re willing to prepay for a year. For the Max with Ads option, that would bring the price down to $70 for the first year, which works out to $5.83 per month.
Max costs $10 per month and will show March Madness games on TBS, TNT or TruTV. If you’re determined to sign up for only one streaming service to watch the tournament, Max is the clear choice. Not only will it show more early-round games across the three Turner-owned networks, but it will also show both Final Four games and the national championship game that will be broadcast on TBS.
Live sports on Max will soon require the $10-per-month B/R Sports add-on, but you won’t need to shell out for it to watch this year’s March Madness games. Warner Bros. Discovery is delaying charging customers for the add-on option until sometime after the tournament.
You’ll need the premium Paramount Plus with Showtime plan to stream the March Madness games that are broadcast on CBS. It costs $12 per month, which is double the price of the non-Showtime Essential plan. For this year’s tournament, CBS will show games from the first round through the Elite Eight.
At $22 total, this would be a significant discount from last year when the cheapest option was a combination of Paramount Plus Premium (the precursor to Paramount Plus with Showtime that was $10 per month) for the CBS games and Sling TV Blue (then $40 per month) for the TNT, TBS and TruTV action.
While this year’s streaming may be cheaper, it is worth pointing out this may be short-lived. Max was planning on charging $10 per month extra for the B/R Sports add-on to watch live games, but decided in January to delay charging for the feature by “a few more months” to “finalize some tech integrations that will ensure a more seamless customer experience with our platform partners.”
