Confirmed: Sling TV to Offer truTV to Orange Subscribers for Free to Watch March Madness Opening Weekend
A Sling TV representative confirmed to The Streamable that truTV will be available for free to Orange customers for the first two rounds of the men’s March Madness.
It is now officially March Madness season and everyone in the media world is getting their game plans in order. The Streamable can now confirm that live TV streaming service Sling TV is making it even easier for its college basketball fan subscribers to catch as many games as possible. Sling has two base subscription packages, Sling Orange and Sling Blue. While neither carries CBS, which will broadcast roughly half of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament games, Blue will carry all of the games airing on the Turner cable channels, while Orange is missing one channel. Now, Sling is remedying that by making truTV available to Orange subscribers throughout the first weekend of March Madness.
Key Details:
- The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off on Thursday with games on CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV.
- Since one of Sling TV’s base channel packages doesn’t offer truTV, the streamer is offering it free for the first two rounds.
- Sling customers can watch the CBS game broadcasts with a subscription to Paramount+.
Sling’s two subscription packages are built to appeal to different types of TV viewers. Blue is the more entertainment-focused package, including Bravo, Discovery, E!, Syfy, TLC, and USA Network, none of which appear on the Orange channel lineup. Conversely, Orange is more built for sports fans, including all of the ESPN channels available on the platform — ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3, which simulcasts every ESPN broadcast that airs on ABC. Both plans include TBS and TNT, as well as many other channels, that is important for watching the men’s basketball tournament.
This season, the men’s national championship game will air on TBS. The network will also partner with its sibling channels TNT and truTV to cover contests throughout the tournament. So, in order for Orange subscribers to get access to all of the games that Sling offers, the streamer is offering a free preview of truTV throughout the channel’s run of the tournament. Since truTV only airs games during the first and second rounds, that means that the preview will run through Sunday, March 24.
This is being done “so that the mainly sports-driven pack users of Orange can watch those specific games [that] truTV [has the] rights to,” a Sling representative told The Streamable.
Related: What’s the Cheapest Way to Watch the 2024 March Madness?
Normally, Orange customers can get access to truTV either by subscribing to the Entertainment Extra add-on for $6 per month, or opting for both the Orange and Blue packages — which runs $55 per month after Sling’s introductory offer of one month 50% off. Any of those options would allow Orange customers to watch men’s March Madness games from all three networks, otherwise it could get confusing and frustrating for viewers.
“[We are] trying to give the customers the best experience possible when we can,” the Sling rep told The Streamable.”
Both Sling Orange and Blue costs $40 per month, but thanks to the first-month, 50%-off deal, you can get either for just $20 for the duration of both the men’s and women’s March Madness. If you want to combine the two plans, your first month would only be $27.50.
What Channels Can You Watch College Basketball on Sling TV With?
In addition to the sports channels available on the Orange and Blue base plans, Sling TV also offers a Sports Extra add-on package that includes numerous other sports channels. The add-on features NBA TV, the NHL Network, the Golf Channel, the MLB Network, the Tennis Channel, and more. But for college hoops fans, it has a host of channels that allow you to stream regular season and conference tournament action.
All of the men’s NCAA Tournament games air on CBS, TBS, TNT, or truTV, but all of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament games are broadcast on the ESPN family of networks, which can all be streamed on Sling, depending on your package configuration. The Sports Extra costs $11 per month when added onto either Orange or Blue, and runs $15 monthly for subscribers who sign up for both base packages.
Sling customers who want to watch the CBS broadcasts can sign up for a subscription to Paramount+ using promo code: Stallone. But hurry, the promo code could expire at any time.
Which Channels on Sling TV Carry College Basketball?
| Channel | Sling Orange | Sling Orange + Sports Extra |
Sling Blue | Sling Blue + Sports Extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC Network | ✓ | |||
| ACC Network Extra | ✓ | |||
| Big Ten Network | ✓ | |||
| ESPN | ✓ | |||
| ESPN2 | ✓ | |||
| ESPN3 | ✓ | |||
| ESPNEWS | ✓ | |||
| ESPNU | ✓ | |||
| FS1 | ✓ | |||
| FS2 | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Longhorn Network | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Pac-12 Networks^ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| SEC Network | ✓ | |||
| SEC Network+ | ✓ |
^= You’ll get access to all six regional Pac-12 Networks: Arizona, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Mountain, Oregon, and Washington.
Sling TV
Sling TV is a live TV streaming service that helps users save money with the option of two distinct plans. The $40/month “Sling Orange” plan offers about 30 channels, including Disney Channel and ESPN. The $40/month “Sling Blue” plan offers about 40 channels, including Fox and NBC local channels.