How to watch March Madness 2025
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
March Madness, college basketball's biggest tournament, starts Sunday.
State of play: The men's tournament starts with Selection Sunday on March 16. The first round begins on March 20, with the championship game on April 7.
- The women's tournament starts with Selection Sunday on March 16. The first round begins on March 21, with the championship game on April 6.
- Men's tournament: CBS Sports and TNT Sports will air live coverage on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. All games can be streamed on NCAA March Madness Live and some on Paramount+ and Max. View tip times here.
- Women's tournament: Live game coverage will air nationally on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ABC. All games can be streamed on NCAA March Madness Live. View tip times here.
Catch up quick: The men's championship game will start 8:50pm ET, 30 minutes earlier this year, the NCAA announced in January. The Monday night game traditionally began at 9:20pm ET — a late start for East Coast fans and a point of contention for many viewers.
Between the lines: Viewership for the last two men's title games was historically low.
Flashback: The UConn Huskies won 75-60 against the Purdue Boilermakers in last year's men's championship game.
- In the women's national championship game, which had an all-time high viewership, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 87-75.
