Can you watch the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sling TV?
Can you watch the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sling TV?
We’ll explain which March Madness games you can watch on Sling, and how to fill in any coverage gaps here.
Did your favorite bubble team squeak into the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament? Condolences for those who didn’t see their favorite team get in, but for everyone else, it’s almost time to go dancing! The First Four round of the tournament starts on Tuesday, March 17, with games set to air on truTV. Then, on Thursday, March 19, the traditional start of the tournament will kick off with the Round of 64, featuring wall-to-wall games on CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV.
Where does that leave Sling TV subscribers? As customers of the streamer already know, CBS isn’t available in any markets on any plan, and the Turner Networks are split between plans. So, which Men’s March Madness games can you watch on Sling TV? We’ll clear up all the confusion below.
What you need to know about watching 2026 NCAA Men’s March Madness games on Sling TV
Which NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games can you watch on Sling TV?
You can stream any games appearing on TNT, TBS, or truTV with a Sling TV subscription, but there are some important things to know. First, the good news — any games appearing on TNT or TBS can be streamed on Sling for as little as $5 per day with Passes. These allow viewers to sign up for a Sling Orange subscription for $5 for one day, $10 for three days, or $15 for seven days, and since TNT and TBS are included in Sling Orange, this offers a great solution for fans who only want to stream a game or two — up to and including the national championship game — on one of the two networks.
The less-good news is that truTV is available only in Sling’s Blue package, which doesn’t allow viewers to watch for a shorter amount of time with Passes. Sling Blue only offers monthly subscription options, and its plan starts at $46 per month. However, audiences can combine the channels of both plans with Sling Orange and Blue, bringing TBS, TNT, and truTV together in the same package for $61 per month.
Sling TV
Sling TV is The Streamable’s choice for cord-cutters on a budget. Sling is a live TV streaming service with multiple channel packages. The $45.99/month Sling Orange plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $45.99/month Sling Blue plan offers about 40 channels, including ABC, Fox, and NBC in major markets.
You can combine Orange+Blue for a total of $60.99 / month. Sling also offers many channel add-on packages starting at $6/month.
How to watch games from the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on CBS with Sling TV
As mentioned, Sling TV does not carry CBS in any plan or market. That means customers who subscribe to Sling are at risk of missing a major portion of Men’s March Madness, but there is a workaround solution for customers who don’t want to cancel their Sling subscription to try to choose another live TV streaming service.
Paramount+ offers a live stream of CBS — including all live sports, news, and other content on the channel — with a subscription to its Premium plan. This package costs $14 per month, and in addition to the CBS live stream, it includes ad-free playback of TV shows and movies, as well as access to the SHOWTIME on-demand library.
It’s never fun to have to stack streaming services to get access to all the content you want, but the money you can save with a Sling TV subscription means you’ll still end up paying less than other streaming services charge to watch all the games in one place. Even if you added Paramount+ Premium to Sling Orange and Blue, your total cost would come out to $75 per month — less than you’ll pay for a DIRECTV Signature package, Hulu + Live TV, or YouTube TV’s core plan.
Sling TV may not be the ideal solution for all March Madness fans, but those who are looking to watch the Men’s Tournament can save quite a bit by opting for Sling. Watch games from TNT, TBS, and truTV with Sling’s channel packages, and add a Paramount+ Premium subscription to stream any games appearing on CBS, all for less than you’ll pay for a bloated channel package from the competition.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.