March Madness is nearly here. This Sunday, March 15, the brackets for the 2026 NCAA tournament will be revealed. The men’s 68-team bracket reveal will air live on CBS at 6 p.m. ET. The women’s will air on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET. Just like last year, the two tournaments are spread across a range of channels, so if you’re looking for how to watch March Madness — in addition to Selection Sunday — Yahoo Sports has you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about watching Selection Sunday for the men’s NCAA tournament live this weekend, plus how to watch March Madness in 2026.
How to watch Selection Sunday:
Date: Sunday, March 15, 2026
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Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV channel: CBS
Streaming: Paramount+, DirecTV and more
When is Selection Sunday for March Madness?
The madness begins on Selection Sunday, March 15, when the Selection Committee will reveal the full NCAA tournament bracket for both the men’s and women’s NCAA teams. The men’s bracket will be revealed at 6 p.m. ET. The women’s bracket will follow at 8 p.m. ET.
Selection Sunday TV channel:
The men’s March Madness bracket reveal will air live on CBS. The women’s bracket reveal will air on ESPN.
How to watch Selection Sunday live without cable:
Paramount+ offers subscribers access to loads of sports, including some March Madness games, the NFL, soccer, and more. Plus, you get access to great shows like Survivor, The Challenge, and more.
There are two Paramount+ tiers to choose from: the ad-supported Essential plan ($9.99/month) or their ad-free Premium plan with Showtime ($13.99/month), which also gives you ad-free streaming of on-demand content, live access to your local CBS station, and full streaming access to Showtime.
You’ll need the Paramount+ Premium tier to watch Selection Sunday and the rest of March Madness.
DirecTV is currently offering its Choice tier (typically $115+/month with fees) for just $80 (after fees) for the first month.
DirecTV’s Choice tier gives you access to tons of sports channels, including ESPN, the ACC Network, the Big Ten Network, the SEC Network, and plenty of local Regional Sports Networks. Plus, you’ll get access to ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox.
Whichever package you choose, you’ll get unlimited Cloud DVR storage and access to ESPN’s new streaming tier, ESPN Unlimited.
The best part is that you can currently try all this out for free for 5 days. If you’re interested in trying a live TV streaming service for the start of March Madness but aren’t ready to commit, we recommend starting with DirecTV.
When does March Madness start?
Both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament brackets will be revealed on Sunday, March 15. The men’s games then tip off with the First Four on Tuesday, March 17. The women’s side will tip off on Wednesday, March 18.
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What channel is March Madness on in 2026?
Games in the men’s NCAA tournament will air across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. The women’s NCAA tournament will air across the ESPN suite — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews and ABC.
Don’t have cable? Don’t worry. You can stream the men’s games easily with a subscription to Paramount+ Premium and HBO Max Standard, or a live TV streaming service like DirecTV, Fubo, or Sling. The women’s games will be accessible via an ESPN Unlimited subscription (or any live TV streaming service that includes the ESPN suite).
How to watch March Madness 2026:
