By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on & X.
Former Sony employee and editor of 4 TV magazines.
TV Answer Man, we’re very excited about watching March Madness this year. Do you have any tips for cord cutters? We split from cable a year ago. — Jamal, Sacramento, California.
Jamal, March Madness, the annual men’s college basketball tournament, tips off Tuesday night (March 19) with the ‘First Four’ doubleheader at 6:40 p.m. ET on truTV. Wagner will play Howard in the first game, followed by Colorado State facing Virginia in game two. On Wednesday (March 20) at 6:40 p.m. ET, there will be another First Four doubleheader: Grambling vs. Montana State in game one with Colorado vs. Boise State in game two. Both will also be on truTV.
The first round games will commence on Thursday (March 21) at 12;15 p.m. ET with Michigan State playing Mississippi State on CBS. There will be 16 games on Thursday, airing at different times on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. The four networks are splitting the coverage throughout the tournament. Click here to see a complete TV schedule.
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There is one important thing that all cord cutters should know before the tournament starts tomorrow night. Not only will Turner’s TBS, TNT and truTV broadcast the majority of the games, TBS will air the Final Four and Final on April 6 and 8 respectively. That means you will need a pay TV subscription from a cable or satellite service, a live streamer such as YouTube TV, DIRECTV Stream and Hulu, or a Max subscription, to watch all the Turner games. In past years, CBS has aired the Final Four and Final games, which allowed cord cutters to use an antenna. But this year, you will need a subscription of some kind for even those. (Note: Max will stream the TBS, TNT, truTV games while Paramount Plus will stream the CBS games.)
This also means that Fubo subscribers won’t be able to watch the majority of the games, including the Final Four and Final, because the streamer does not carry TBS, TNT or truTV.
Jamal, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
