Watching the NCAA Tournament Selection Show

March Madness, a favorite time for basketball enthusiasts, is fast approaching. In 2026, 68 men's and 68 women's college basketball teams will compete in the NCAA tournaments. Before filling out your brackets, it's important to know when and where to watch the Selection Show, which reveals the participating teams and tournament brackets.

Key Dates for March Madness

Men's NCAA Tournament Start Date: Tuesday, March 17
Women's NCAA Tournament Start Date: Wednesday, March 18
Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 15

The Selection Sunday show for both men's and women's tournaments is scheduled for Sunday, March 15. The men's show is traditionally broadcast on CBS, while ESPN handles the women's show.

How to Watch the Selection Show

TV Channels

Men's Selection Show: CBS
Women's Selection Show: ESPN

Streaming Options

Fubo: A streaming service that carries both CBS and the ESPN family of networks, offering a free trial for new subscribers.
Paramount+: CBS's streaming site, which will stream the men's selection show.
ESPN App: Stream the women's Selection Sunday show using the ESPN app with a TV login.

March Madness Schedule

Men's Tournament

First Four: Tuesday, March 17 - Wednesday, March 18 (Dayton, Ohio)
First Round: Thursday, March 19 - Friday, March 20
Second Round: Saturday, March 21 - Sunday, March 22
Sweet 16: Thursday, March 26 - Friday, March 27
Elite Eight: Saturday, March 28 - Sunday, March 29
Final Four: Saturday, April 4 (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)
National Championship Game: Monday, April 6 (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)

Women's Tournament

First Four: Wednesday, March 18
Final Four: April 4
National Championship Game: Monday, April 6

TV Channels Broadcasting March Madness Games

March Madness games will air on four primary TV channels:

CBS
TNT
TBS
TruTV

Streaming March Madness Games

CBS Games: Streamed on Fubo (free trial) and Paramount+.
TNT, TBS, and TruTV Games: Available on Sling TV.

Conference Tournament Schedules

Conference tournaments determine which teams receive automatic bids to the NCAA tournaments. Here's a look at some key conference tournament dates:

Horizon League: March 2-10 (Indianapolis)
ASUN: March 4-8 (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Big South: March 4-8 (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Summit: March 4-8 (Sioux Falls, SD)
OVC: March 4-7 (Evansville, Ind.)
NEC: March 4-10 (on campus)
MAAC: March 5-10 (Atlantic City, NJ)
MVC: March 5-8 (St. Louis)
WCC: March 5-10 (Las Vegas)
SoCon: March 6-9 (Asheville, NC)
CAA: March 6-10 (Washington DC)
Big Sky: March 7-11 (Boise)
America East: March 7-14 (on campus)
Mountain West: March 7-14 (Las Vegas)
Southland: March 8-12 (Lake Charles, La.)
SWAC: March 9-14 (Atlanta)
ACC: March 10-14 (Charlotte)
Big 12: March 10-14 (Kansas City)
Big Ten: March 10-15 (Chicago)
Conference USA: March 10-14 (Huntsville, Ala.)
Patriot: March 3-11 (on campus)
American: March 11-15 (Birmingham)
Big East: March 11-14 (New York City)
Big West: March 11-14 (Henderson, NV)
MAC: March 11-14 (Cleveland)
MEAC: March 11-14 (Norfolk, Va.)
WAC: March 11-14 (Las Vegas)
Atlantic 10: March 11-15 (Pittsburgh)
SEC: March 11-15 (Nashville)
Ivy: March 14-15 (Ithaca, NY)

A History of Broadcasting March Madness

The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament coverage, branded as "NCAA March Madness," is jointly produced by CBS Sports and TNT Sports. CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) have an agreement where games are televised on CBS, TNT, TBS, and truTV, with all games streaming on Paramount+ or HBO Max. CBS Sports Network also re-airs games from all networks.

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The CBS-Turner Agreement

In 2010, the NCAA reached a 14-year agreement with CBS and the Turner Broadcasting System for joint broadcast rights to the Division I men's college basketball tournament. This agreement, worth US$10.8 billion, came after speculation that ESPN would try to obtain the rights. The agreement runs through 2032 and stipulates that all games are available nationally.

Coverage Breakdown

First Four: All games air on truTV.
First and Second Rounds: CBS broadcasts a featured game in each time window, while other games are shown on TBS, TNT, or truTV.
Sweet 16 and Elite 8: Games are split between CBS and TBS.
Final Four: Turner channels had exclusive rights in 2014 and 2015, with standard coverage airing on TBS.
Championship Game: CBS broadcast the championship game in 2014 and 2015.

March Madness Live

March Madness On Demand, now called March Madness Live, is managed by Turner Interactive. In 2012, only games televised by CBS were available for free, with other games available to authenticated subscribers.

The Selection Show

The CBS-WarnerMedia coverage begins with The Selection Show, where participating teams are announced. TruTV broadcasts pre-game coverage (Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off), while TBS and TruTV air the post-game show Inside March Madness.

Changes to the Selection Show Format

In 2016, CBS extended the selection show to a two-hour format, which was criticized for being too padded. In 2017, the show was shortened to 90 minutes. In 2018, the show aired on TBS with a studio audience and promised to reveal the entire field within the first 10 minutes.

Impacts and Adjustments

The 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, NHL coverage affected the First Four coverage.

Teamcast Coverage

In 2014, truTV and TNT aired special "Teamcast" coverage of the Final Four alongside TBS's conventional coverage, featuring commentators representing the schools in each game.

Broadcasting Teams

CBS and TNT pool their resources for the tournament. CBS's Jim Nantz remained the lead voice for the tournament until 2023. Analysts from CBS and TNT's college basketball coverage join the studio in New York City, while others contribute from Atlanta.

Graphics and Theme Music

During the first five years of the television deal, all games used Turner Sports graphics. In 2016, a new graphics package was unveiled, using CBS's graphics for all games. The tournament version of the scoreboard is anchored to the edges of the screen with shadows that light up in team colors after a made basket. The networks use a variation of the CBS College Basketball Theme.

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