How to watch March Madness free online, the best streams for Sweet 16 in the US, UK, and around the world

The second set of March Madness Sweet Sixteen games tip off tonight, again split between CBS and TBS in the US. While the men's bracket gets their final eight teams onto the court, it's also the first set of women's Sweet Sixteen matchups tonight as well. With so many different streamers to choose from, it can be difficult to work out how to watch March Madness this year.

Essentially, you're looking at either splitting subscriptions between HBO Max or Paramount Plus for the men's games taking place tonight. If you're feeling flush, YouTube TV will have every single game in one place (there's also a free trial available if you're just catching Sweet Sixteen). Otherwise, today's games are split between TBS and CBS in the US, with each broadcaster running two matches.

After four teams managed to claim their slots in the Elite Eight last night (no spoilers here) there's another bracket including heavyweights Duke and Michigan. For more details on how to watch March Madness online tonight, here's our full guide.

How to watch March Madness for free

UK basketball fans can watch March Madness for free this year, courtesy of DAZN. However, you may find yourself locked out of these streams if you're travelling abroad. That's because services like DAZN lock their content to a specific region, but there are workarounds available.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) works by changing the location visible to these streamers. That means you can continue watching your content as if you were back home, including free March Madness lives streams courtesy of DAZN. Simply download the software, select your region of choice, and you're good to go.

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How to watch March Madness in the US

The two key online streamers carrying March Madness in the US are Paramount+ (for all CBS games) and HBO Max (for the rest). Games will also be streaming on NCAA Live.

If you're a Paramount Plus subscriber you'll need the Premium plan to watch March Madness live on CBS; with a deal currently dropping that monthly rate down to $2.99 for two months. However, Walmart Plus members also get access to Paramount Plus for free right now. The Premium plan is included with all subscriptions at no extra charge.

HBO Max (available via Amazon Prime) carries TBS, TNT and TruTV; for live sport you need the Standard plan, which starts at $18.49 per month.

YouTube TV also carries all men's and women's March Madness games, with a free trial available now.

Otherwise, for the women's tournament you'll need ESPN2, ESPN, ESPNews and ABC to watch all March Madness games. YouTube TV still works here, but you can also catch free trials from Fubo and Sling TV as well.

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How to watch March Madness in the UK

In the UK, you can stream March Madness for free via DAZN – and if you're not already a subscriber you can sign up for a free account. The DAZN app is available for a huge range of devices including smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles and web browsers.

If you're out of the UK you can use NordVPN to access the DAZN service from wherever you are, but you may need to have your billing location in DAZN set to one of the supported countries.

How to watch March Madness in Australia

In Australia, Disney+ will be streaming the March Madness games. They will also be streaming online via Foxtel and Kayo. Foxtel offers a 10-day free trial and Kayo seven.

Disney+ doesn't currently offer a free trial to Australian viewers, so you'll need either the Standard plan ($15.99/month or $159.99/year) or the Premium Plan ($20.99/month / $209.99/year).

Today's games

March Madness 2026 Men's dates

NCAA has very helpfully provided a full schedule for the men's events of March Madness 2026, which you can view here. It's a very long list so here's the overview of the men's events:

• Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 15
• First Four: March 17-18
• First round: March 19-20
• Second round: March 21-22
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite Eight: March 28-29
• Final Four: April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
• NCAA championship game: April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis

March Madness 2026 Women's dates

NCAA's schedule for the women's events is online here. These are the key dates you need to know as per the NCAA:

• Selection Sunday: 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 15 on ESPN
• First Four: March 18-19
• First round: March 20-21
• Second round: March 22-23
• Sweet 16: March 27-28
• Elite Eight: March 29-30
• Final Four: Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. with the second semifinal starting 30 minutes after the first game ends. Both will be at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix
• NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC, hosted at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix

We're rounding up all the current ESPN Plus prices as well as the latest Peacock TV prices and Hulu free trials as well.