Selection Sunday 2018: How to watch the NCAA Selection Show – CNET

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It’s Selection Sunday. Here’s how to watch.

NCAA

Will your school get an invite to the Big Dance? Who will grab the number one seeds? Who will be left out? All shall be revealed on Selection Sunday when the field of 68 is set for the NCAA basketball tournament.

When does it start?

The NCAA Selection Show will air from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET (3 p.m. to 5 p.m. PT) but will not be shown at its usual spot on CBS. Instead, you’ll need to head over to TBS this year to watch the tournament bracket take shape. (Selection Sunday, the Final Four and the championship game now alternate between CBS and TBS. And for the record, CNET is a division of CBS.)

How can I stream it?

You can watch the Selection Show on the NCAA’s March Madness Live site or use its March Madness Live app. You can watch March Madness Live on iOS and Android devices along with Apple TV ($179.86 at Sam’s Club), Roku, Fire TV and Xbox One ($399.00 at Amazon.com). The app also supports AirPlay and Chromecast.

The March Madness Live site and app provide a three-hour live streaming preview before you’ll need to log into a participating pay TV provider. You’ll be able to get through the Selection Show for free, but doing so will leave you precious few minutes of tournament action before the preview runs out.

I need more. Can I have more?

Yes. Yes, you can. If two hours of selecting teams for the tournament isn’t enough, you can tune into four hours of what the NCAA is calling a Social Madness social media pre-show. It starts at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) until the official Selection Show starts at 6 p.m. on NCAA.com, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Bleacher Report.

What are my other streaming options?

Cord cutters can use one of the big five live-TV streaming services to watch Selection Sunday, but you’ll need to use a plan or a service that includes TBS. Let’s review your options.

DirecTV Now

DirecTV Now’s cheapest, $35-a-month Live a Little package includes TBS (along with CBS, TNT and TruTV — the other networks that will broadcast March Madness along with TBS).

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu with Live TV costs $40 a month and includes TBS (and CBS, TNT and TruTV).

PlayStation Vue

PlayStation Vue’s $40 Access plan includes TBS (and CBS, TNT and truTV).

Sling TV

Sling TV’s $20-a-month Orange plan includes TBS (and TNT). The $25-a-month Blue plan includes TBS (along with TNT and TruTV). Neither plan, however, offers CBS, making it a poor choice for March Madness streaming.

YouTube TV

YouTube TV costs $35 a month and includes TBS (and CBS, TNT and truTV). It’s available in dozens of major metro markets, with more being added all the time.

Each of the big five streaming services offers a seven-day trial so you could sign up and watch Selection Sunday for free but will need to pony up for a month of service by the tournament’s first weekend.

Read more: March Madness 2018: When the games start, how to stream and more