March Madness 2024: How to watch the men's NCAA tournament's First Four games

It’s March Madness time! Over the course of the following three weeks, 68 teams from the men’s and women’s divisions will play a total of 135 games. Beginning on Tuesday, March 19, the men’s NCAA tournament will begin with the First Four games. Colorado State (24-10) and Virginia (23-10) will compete for the No. 10 seed in the Midwest, while Wagner (16-15) and Howard will play for the No. 16 seed in the West Region. HBO’s Max will stream both games live, and truTV will show both. Are you prepared with your bracket? Here is all the information you require to watch March Madness, including important NCAA tournament dates, free game streaming options, and more.

How to watch the March Madness tournaments’ first four games:

Dates: March 19–20
TV Channel: TruTV
Streaming: Max, Sling Orange & Blue

When does March Madness start?

On Tuesday, March 19, the men’s NCAA tournament begins with the First Four games.

March Madness First Four schedule:

Tuesday, Mar. 19 (First Four in Dayton, Ohio)

(16) Wagner vs. (16) Howard: 6:40 p.m. (truTV)
(10) Colorado State vs. (10) Virginia: 9:10 p.m. (truTV)

Wednesday, Mar. 20 (First Four in Dayton, Ohio)

(16) Grambling vs. (16) Montana State: 6:40 p.m. (truTV)
(10) Colorado vs. (10) Boise State: 9:10 p.m. (truTV)

March Madness Channel:

The first four games of the men’s tournament will be broadcast on TruTV (and streamed live on Max).

Men’s NCAA March Madness Tournament games will be broadcast live on a combination of CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Previously, it was difficult to achieve this combination with just one, two, or three streaming services. But watching March Madness this year shouldn’t be so…crazy. Many people already have free wireless access to CBS. However, if your TV doesn’t currently receive local channels such as CBS live, look for an old-fashioned TV antenna or subscribe to Paramount+ with SHOWTIME, which includes access to live CBS broadcasts.

For other channels, HBO’s Max currently offers a sports add-on (B/R Sports) for free to all Max-level subscribers. That means for $9.99 a month, you can watch March His Madness matches live on TNT, TBS, and TruTV.

If you just want to add a subscription to your arsenal, some live TV streaming services like Sling, DirecTV, and YouTube TV offer all the channels you need to keep up with March Madness.

How to watch March Madness without cable:

Max + B/R Sports

Max has long been an “the one to watch” for entertainment fans, and now it’s also captivating sports fans. For a limited time, Max subscribers can get the new B/R Sports add-on completely free of charge. This includes live March Madness games on TBS, TNT, and truTV.

Currently, if you prepay for a year, you can save over 40% on Max, dropping your monthly price from $9.99 to $5.83.

Blue & Orange Sling TV

TNT, TBS, TruTV, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 are all available on Sling TV’s Orange & Blue plan, which starts at $30 for your first month and includes over thirty more channels. This means you can watch almost all of the stations you need to watch both the men’s and women’s March Madness. In addition, a Sling subscription offers 50 hours of free DVR storage, so you can always record games if you’re concerned about missing any NCAA action.