NCAA March Madness: How To Watch Selection Sunday Online, Streaming, And On TV

Selection Sunday is today! The day college basketball fans have anticipated for weeks, if not months, has finally arrived — the NCAA will reveal to breathless fans all over the country, and maybe even the world, which teams will be selected for the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament, and where they will compete. And if you’d like to watch the process, either online, on TV, or streaming, you have a few options, according to CNET.

Back to basics

Last year’s Selection Sunday broadcast was, by just about every measure, a complete bust. After having been broadcast on CBS for as long as anyone can remember, the show was broadcast on TBS, shutting out viewers who don’t pay for cable or satellite or who don’t have TBS in their cable/satellite packages. This was because CBS and TBS have a broadcast deal allowing for sharing of some of the games and events associated with the tournament.

Selection Sunday 2018 was a half-hour longer than normal. And, worst of all, the selected teams were revealed alphabetically instead of by region, a head-scratching decision that, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, was “widely panned” by fans all over the world.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus says that’s a mistake that won’t be repeated this year.

“People wanted to know their brackets as soon as possible. So we learned from that, and that why we’re doing it this year.”

This year, the selection show will be back on CBS, it will be cut down to one hour, and most importantly, the alphabetical-order reveal will be ditched. Instead, host Greg Gumbel will reveal the full 68-team bracket by region. And the reveal will start happening right at the top of the show, rather than following a half hour of analysis and exposition.

How to watch

Start time: The show is expected to start at approximately 6 p.m. ET. However, the show is scheduled after the conclusion of the Big Ten championship game on CBS, and live sporting events don’t always end on time, so the start time is approximate.

On regular TV: Just watch on CBS.

Streaming: If you’ve cut the cord, you still have a few options. You can watch the regular CBS feed if you have the CBS All Access app on your TV — the monthly subscription fee is $5.99 per month. You can also stream the show via the NCAA March Madness Live (requires authentication) app, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV, PlayStation Vue, DirectTV Now, or Fubo TV. All of these options require a subscription.

Online: CBS Sports HQ will broadcast the Selection Sunday show online, without a subscription.

And the most important question — how do I get a printable bracket?: They’ll be all over the internet, provided by just about every major, mid-market, and minor newspaper and/or CBS affiliate. But if you go to the NCAA‘s website, you can get a blank one now, so you can print off the teams as they’re revealed.

The NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament begins Tuesday, March 19.