March Madness® - How to Watch & NCAA Tournament Info
Reading this is a slam-dunk decision …
Posted on Apr 15, 2025 | 09:00am
March Madness® is roughly three weeks of jaw-dropping upsets and thrilling buzzer-beaters. It's the nation's top 68 top college teams competing in a high-stakes succession of single-elimination games. It's the best kind of madness, and, when it rolls around again next year, select games will air live on CBS, and stream live on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan.
Follow the bouncing ball to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament with the help of our watch guide. Let's get this tipped off.
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A traditional CBS broadcast can be watched on your TV using cable, satellite, or a digital antenna. And don't forget: All March Madness® games presented by CBS Sports will air live on CBS, and stream live on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan only.
Get Started
Follow the bouncing ball to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament with the help of our watch guide. Let's get this tipped off.
What is Selection Sunday?
Selection Sunday marks the official start of March Madness®. On the big day, the tournament bracket is revealed. The nation's 32 conference champions find out where they're seeded, and 36 other teams score at-large invites to The Big Dance® courtesy the Selection Committee.What is a March Madness® bracket?
A March Madness® bracket is a tree diagram of the March Madness® tournament. It features four branches, representing, respectively, the East Region, South Region, Midwest Region, and West Region, plus a separate section that covers the First Four games. As noted, at the beginning of the tournament, a total of 68 teams are ranked, or seeded.What are the First Four games?
The First Four games are the four opening games of the March Madness® tournament. The matchups are culled from the tournament's four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers, and its four lowest-seeded at-large teams. The winners of the First Four games move to the regional branches, completing what is known as the Round of 64, meaning there are 64 teams left in the chase for the National Championship. (And that's when the madness really gets going.)What is the Final Four®?
Another storied step in the March Madness® journey, the Final Four® is the name for the tournament's semifinals round, where just four teams remain. In the Final Four®, the survivors of the East, South, Midwest, and West regions are paired off into two games – two games that determine the two teams that'll play for the National Championship.When is the Final Four® 2026?
In 2026, the games of the Final Four® are scheduled to be played on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, Indiana.How to watch and stream March Madness®?
In 2026, March Madness® will be broadcast in a partnership between CBS Sports and TNT Sports.A traditional CBS broadcast can be watched on your TV using cable, satellite, or a digital antenna. And don't forget: All March Madness® games presented by CBS Sports will air live on CBS, and stream live on Paramount+ with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan only.