Over the next few weeks, there will be no shortage of college basketball to watch — welcome back to March Madness!
Between today and the national championship on April 6, 67 college basketball games will be played until there’s just one team remaining on the bracket.
Every game will be televised, but with so many games, it takes four different networks to air all of them, and for one network, it’s the biggest time of the year.
If you haven’t already, or are just remembering it exists again, meet truTV.
What is truTV?
truTV is a cable television network that falls under the Turner umbrella, like TNT and TBS (two more networks broadcasting a bulk of this year’s March Madness).
It’s mostly known for airing games from the NCAA Tournament every year, but you can also watch reruns of shows like “Impractical Jokers” and “American Dad,” plus movies including “Wonka,” “Aquaman” and more year-round.
This year, truTV is set to televise 23 March Madness games, including the First Four and eight in the first round.
How to watch truTV for free:
truTV is included in most basic cable subscriptions, but if you’re a cord cutter, a live TV streaming service will be your best bet. Several that include truTV offer free trials, though none of the trials are long enough to span the entire NCAA Tournament.
- DIRECTV: subscribe to the MySports Genre Pack ($69.99/month) or Choice base plan ($59.99 for your first month + MySports for free), both include five-day free trials
- Hulu + Live TV: subscribe to the base plan ($89.99/month), which includes a three-day free trial
These additional, cost-effective options will give you access to truTV at a lower price, though there are no free trials available.
- Sling TV Orange + Entertainment Extra: for just $5.99, sign up for a one-day pass from Sling TV, which includes live truTV. 3-day and 7-day passes are also available.
- Sling TV Blue: starts at $45.99/month for 40+ channels including truTV.
- HBO Max: the HBO Max Standard plan ($18.49/month) includes live sports from truTV.
truTV March Madness schedule:
As we noted above, truTV will broadcast 23 games throughout the NCAA Tournament this year. Right now, only the First Four and the First Round have been scheduled, but we’ve put those 12 games below for easy reference.
First Four
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup |
| Tuesday, March 17 | 6:40 PM | (16) UMBC vs. (16) Howard |
| 9:15 PM | (11) Texas vs. (11) NC State | |
| Wednesday, March 18 | 6:40 PM | (16) Prairie View A&M vs. (16) Lehigh |
| 9:15 PM | (11) Miami (OH) vs. (11) SMU |
First Round
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup |
| Thursday, March 19 | 12:40 PM | (13) Troy vs. (4) Nebraska |
| 3:15 PM | (12) McNeese vs. (5) Vanderbilt | |
| 7:35 PM | (10) Texas A&M vs. (7) Saint Mary’s | |
| 10:10 PM | (15) Idaho vs. (2) Houston | |
| Friday, March 20 | 12:40 PM | (12) Akron vs. (5) Texas Tech |
| 3:15 PM | (13) Hofstra vs. (4) Alabama | |
| 7:35 PM | (15) Queens (NC) vs. (2) Purdue | |
| 10:10 PM | (10) Missouri vs. (7) Miami (FL) |
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This article was written by Angela Tricarico, Commerce Streaming Reporter for Post Wanted Shopping, Page Six, and Decider.com. Angela keeps readers up to date with cord-cutter-friendly deals, and information on how to watch your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and movies on every streaming service. Not only does Angela test and compare the streaming services she writes about to ensure readers are getting the best prices, but she’s also a superfan specializing in the intersection of shopping, tech, sports, and pop culture. When she’s not writing about (or watching) TV, movies, and sports, she’s also keeping up on the underrated perfume dupes at Bath & Body Works and testing headphones. Prior to joining Decider and The New York Post in 2023, she wrote about streaming and consumer tech at Insider Reviews.
