2013 NCAA Tournament Broadcasts - TV, Internet, Radio

[devil84]

CBS is covering the tournament. http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/scoreboard links to their scoreboard, which is a daily list of the games including times and which channel is carrying the game. Note that the game times are set one round at a time, particularly for the first two weekends. So, no, you're not going to be able to plan your weekend until after Friday's games are over.

If you get CBS over the air on TV, you'll get one game. If you have a good cable TV subscription from a decent provider, you'll also get TruTV, TBS, and TNT. These other channels will be used to broadcast games in their entirety. Go ahead and program your remotes now to put CBS, TruTV, TBS, and TNT as your favorites so you can flip between them easily. In the Triangle on Time Warner Cable, these channels are :

CBS: varies/105/1105
TruTV: 44/313/1313
TNT: 33/301/1301
TBS: 34/302/1302

For Time Warner subscribers, download their app and you might be able to watch on your phone/tablet while you're away from home for only the cost of the data you're consuming.

DirectTV subscribers, your channels are: your local CBS, TNT/ch 245, TRU-TV/246, TBS/247 and CBS Sports Net/ 613.

If you need an [B]online outlet, check out http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/. Note the "Boss Button" in the upper right corner. Your boss may be fooled, but your IT guys will likely figure out what you're doing by the load on the network. There are also iPhone and Android apps available (links at the bottom of the page). It sounds like the apps will provide the radio stream for free and live coverage of the games on CBS, but the live TV coverage of the cable channels (TNT, TBS, and TruTV) requires authentication through your cable provider after four hours of viewing (you will receive several popups alerting you to the time left at 2 hours, 1 hour, 30 min, 15 min, and 5 minutes), after which time you will have to provide authentication. There is no ability to purchase the games, either individually or an entire tournament pass, if you don't have cable authentication (and, according to the FAQ (http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/help#!login), some cable companies can limit the number of simultaneous logins, if you're sharing a login amongst family).

If you plan to watch this on your phone, check your wireless data plan now to determine if it is large enough to cover your usage if you're not watching over Wi-Fi (and check to ensure that your Wi-Fi at work has enough bandwidth without ticking off the IT group).

Here are some more links that can help you determine how to watch the game:

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/acc-tournament-on-tv-radio-web-mobile/9221616/ (http://www.wralsportsfan.com/acc-tournament-on-tv-radio-web-mobile/9221616/) with some good info for everyone, with a particular emphasis for those in the Triangle. Also check your local CBS affiliate's website for more info.

http://dialglobalsports.com/2013/03/2013-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament-on-dial-global-sports/ (http://dialglobalsports.com/2013/03/2013-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament-on-dial-global-sports/) focuses on radio networks with some good info on various apps, an over the air station finder, and online streaming links.

http://www.siriusxm.com/collegesports (http://www.siriusxm.com/collegesports) has SiriusXM coverage information.

If you are outside the US, you can watch live on ESPN International television, but there doesn't seem to be a streaming option. As far as the NCAA app:

Will the NCAA® March Madness Live® application work outside of the US?
Live games and audio streaming via the 2013 NCAA® March Madness Live application are not available outside of the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Bermuda. The application and certain features, such as video recaps and radio broadcast may be available internationally but live games are not available.

Why can’t I view live video if I logged in with my US TV provider account from outside of the US?
Live games and audio streaming via the 2013 NCAA® March Madness Live application are not available outside of the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Bermuda. The application and certain features, such as video recaps and radio broadcast may be available internationally but live games are not available.

So, either you need to work via proxy, or watch the games delayed. I wasn't able to watch the Round 1 games yesterday live, but I watched the end of the Liberty-NC A&T game a few hours later on the march madness stream. Just something to keep in mind, and I don't see any other options.

The previous thread, "Broadcasting the NCAAs (http://-http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?30954-Broadcasting-the-NCAAs)," was closed to enable us to create a new thread with an aggregate post (this post) at the top of the thread so our readers can find the information. We've linked to this from an announcement at the top of the page and we will keep this first post updated. This may make some of the downstream posts looks a little strange, but our main priority here is that this post will have a compendium of the information everyone needs to get live feeds of the Tournament on their selected device(s).

Thanks to all the posters who posted information that we've updated in this post. If you have additions, corrections, or updates, please post in the thread!

[-jk]

Thanks, Devil84. Nice summary.

-jk

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Just one note, the NCAA March Madness Live app requires an authentication with your cable/satellite provider, there's no upgrade fee.

[jjasper0729]

Just one note, the NCAA March Madness Live app requires an authentication with your cable/satellite provider, there's no upgrade fee.

seems like this is done the same way watchespn is done. i downloaded the app and was able to log in.

[sue71, esq]

Excellent info. Thanks for compiling!

[devil84]

Thanks for the clarifying the upgrade fees.

I've edited the original post to ensure that it's clear that if you already have cable and can authenticate it (like WatchESPN), you won't have any fees. However, if you are not a cable subscriber, you can pay a modest fee and for access to all tournament games (and you can't do that with WatchESPN, if I'm not mistaken).

[TNDukeFan]

Thanks for the clarifying the upgrade fees.

I've edited the original post to ensure that it's clear that if you already have cable and can authenticate it (like WatchESPN), you won't have any fees. However, if you are not a cable subscriber, you can pay a modest fee and for access to all tournament games (and you can't do that with WatchESPN, if I'm not mistaken).

Devil84, I don't think this is correct. As I said over on the now-locked thread,

"I spent some time Googling and surfing and I think what I said above is true. CBS will stream what they're showing without asking for authentication. The other [cable] channels, not so much. Other than four free hours, you'll need cable or a pirated stream.

To quote one of many articles -

'For the first time, March Madness is going to require authentication for any game that’s shown on cable. This means that you’ll have to log in with your cable TV subscription account if the game you want to watch is airing on TBS, TNT or truTV. Games that are available on CBS will still be available without logging in.'"

So there's no fee option.

[sagegrouse]

Tonight's NCAA first-round games will be on TRU, DirecTV channel 246, beginning with A&T and Liberty at 6:40 EDT.

The NIT will be covered on ESPN, ESPN-U and ESPN-2. St. John's at St. Joe's kicks it off on the U at 7PM EDT, followed by Norfolk State at Virginia. Kentucky (tee-hee) AT Robert Morris is on ESPN at 7:30. The ESPN-2 games don;t appear on my channel guide. I'll hunt some more.

sagegrouse

[devil84]

Devil84, I don't think this is correct. As I said over on the now-locked thread,

"I spent some time Googling and surfing and I think what I said above is true. CBS will stream what they're showing without asking for authentication. The other [cable] channels, not so much. Other than four free hours, you'll need cable or a pirated stream.

To quote one of many articles -

'For the first time, March Madness is going to require authentication for any game that’s shown on cable. This means that you’ll have to log in with your cable TV subscription account if the game you want to watch is airing on TBS, TNT or truTV. Games that are available on CBS will still be available without logging in.'"

So there's no fee option.

You are probably right. I had seen a site that had mentioned the upgrade fee, and upon checking my work, I found that to be for last year (yeah, putting 2013 in your Google search still comes up with old info *sigh*). Given that, I'm not sure what they meant by "upgrade fee" -- maybe they really meant that you might have to upgrade your cable service (in many cases, that would be upgrading from "none" to "some"). Thanks for making me check my work!

[AIRFORCEDUKIE]

Anybody have any idea what time the Duke/Albany winner plays the Cincy/Creighton winner? Ive been searching but most sites stop on Fridays game times.

[-jk]

Anybody have any idea what time the Duke/Albany winner plays the Cincy/Creighton winner? Ive been searching but most sites stop on Fridays game times.

CBS won't say until after the friday games are over.

-jk

[lotusland]

CBS is covering the tournament. http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/scoreboard links to their scoreboard, which is a daily list of the games including times and which channel is carrying the game.

If you get CBS over the air on TV, you'll get one game. If you have a good cable TV subscription from a decent provider, you'll also get TruTV, TBS, and TNT. These other channels will be used to broadcast games in their entirety. Go ahead and program your remotes now to put CBS, TruTV, TBS, and TNT as your favorites so you can flip between them easily. In the Triangle on Time Warner Cable, these channels are :

CBS: varies/105/1105
TruTV: 44/313/1313
TNT: 33/301/1301
TBS: 34/302/1302

For Time Warner subscribers, download their app and you might be able to watch on your phone/tablet while you're away from home for only the cost of the data you're consuming.

If you need an [B]online outlet, check out http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/. Note the "Boss Button" in the upper right corner. Your boss may be fooled, but your IT guys will likely figure out what you're doing by the load on the network. There are also iPhone and Android apps available (links at the bottom of the page). It sounds like the apps will provide the radio stream for free but the live TV coverage requires authentication through your cable provider. Check your wireless data plan now to determine if it is large enough to cover your usage if you're not watching over Wi-Fi (and check to ensure that your Wi-Fi at work has enough bandwidth without ticking off the IT group).

Here are some more links that can help you determine how to watch the game:

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/acc-tournament-on-tv-radio-web-mobile/9221616/ (http://www.wralsportsfan.com/acc-tournament-on-tv-radio-web-mobile/9221616/) with some good info for everyone, with a particular emphasis for those in the Triangle. Also check your local CBS affiliate's website for more info.

http://dialglobalsports.com/2013/03/2013-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament-on-dial-global-sports/ (http://dialglobalsports.com/2013/03/2013-ncaa-mens-basketball-tournament-on-dial-global-sports/) focuses on radio networks with some good info on various apps, an over the air station finder, and online streaming links.

http://www.siriusxm.com/collegesports (http://www.siriusxm.com/collegesports) has SiriusXM coverage information.

Is there a pay option to watch games other than CBS online if you don't have cable?

[Deslok]

Just a note for overseas folks...

Will the NCAA® March Madness Live® application work outside of the US?
Live games and audio streaming via the 2013 NCAA® March Madness Live application are not available outside of the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Bermuda. The application and certain features, such as video recaps and radio broadcast may be available internationally but live games are not available.

Why can’t I view live video if I logged in with my US TV provider account from outside of the US?
Live games and audio streaming via the 2013 NCAA® March Madness Live application are not available outside of the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Bermuda. The application and certain features, such as video recaps and radio broadcast may be available internationally but live games are not available.

So, either you need to work via proxy, or watch the games delayed. I wasn't able to watch the Round 1 games yesterday live, but I watched the end of the Liberty-NC A&T game a few hours later on the march madness stream. Just something to keep in mind, and I don't see any other options.

[-jk]

Just a note for overseas folks...

Will the NCAA® March Madness Live® application work outside of the US?
Live games and audio streaming via the 2013 NCAA® March Madness Live application are not available outside of the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Bermuda. The application and certain features, such as video recaps and radio broadcast may be available internationally but live games are not available.

Why can’t I view live video if I logged in with my US TV provider account from outside of the US?
Live games and audio streaming via the 2013 NCAA® March Madness Live application are not available outside of the US, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and Bermuda. The application and certain features, such as video recaps and radio broadcast may be available internationally but live games are not available.

So, either you need to work via proxy, or watch the games delayed. I wasn't able to watch the Round 1 games yesterday live, but I watched the end of the Liberty-NC A&T game a few hours later on the march madness stream. Just something to keep in mind, and I don't see any other options.

What about ESPN international, with Vitale?

-jk

[devil84]

Is there a pay option to watch games other than CBS online if you don't have cable?

I don't see that option. It appears that all games on CBS are free, and the other cable channels will require authentication from your cable provider after the first four hours. Ask around to family and friends to use their logins. (If anyone is crazy enough to publicly post their login credentials, we will remove those. Don't give that out publicly!)

I just tried a quick test with the LaSalle/Boise State First Four game. It did not ask me for credentials in the five minutes I watched it. I did notice that it was behind my TV by a good 45 seconds; my TV is a few seconds behind most as it's fed through a DVR. A lag like that will definitely impact how you watch if you want to take part in live chats or check message boards. Aside from that, it is a nice interface, and does give you live stats on the side of the screen (eliminating the problem of checking other stat sites that are ahead of the online broadcast).

Aside from credentials, I guess you'll have to hope the games you want to watch are on CBS. Or hope you have multiple computers (maybe multiple browsers?).

[-jk]

I don't see that option. It appears that all games on CBS are free, and the other cable channels will require authentication from your cable provider after the first four hours. Ask around to family and friends to use their logins. (If anyone is crazy enough to publicly post their login credentials, we will remove those. Don't give that out publicly!)

I just tried a quick test with the LaSalle/Boise State First Four game. It did not ask me for credentials in the five minutes I watched it. I did notice that it was behind my TV by a good 45 seconds; my TV is a few seconds behind most as it's fed through a DVR. A lag like that will definitely impact how you watch if you want to take part in live chats or check message boards. Aside from that, it is a nice interface, and does give you live stats on the side of the screen (eliminating the problem of checking other stat sites that are ahead of the online broadcast).

Aside from credentials, I guess you'll have to hope the games you want to watch are on CBS. Or hope you have multiple computers (maybe multiple browsers?).

If you're connecting from your qualified ISP, you don't need to authenticate. It's when you're trying to connect from elsewhere (work, iDevice, etc) that you may need to show you're a paying subscriber.

On my iphone, I am able to connect to the lasalle/boise game over verizon using the ncaa app. No comcast authentication reqd. (HBOGo does req authentication, though, as an example.) Don't know about other ncaa channels.

-jk

[Deslok]

What about ESPN international, with Vitale?

-jk

For watching yes(and this gives me hope, as I'm actually spending next week on a cruise ship, so internet access is really out of the question), but ESPN International doesn't stream anything that I know of, so you have to have it on TV wherever you are.

[devil84]

If you're connecting from your qualified ISP, you don't need to authenticate. It's when you're trying to connect from elsewhere (work, iDevice, etc) that you may need to show you're a paying subscriber.

On my iphone, I am able to connect to the lasalle/boise game over verizon using the ncaa app. No comcast authentication reqd. (HBOGo does req authentication, though, as an example.) Don't know about other ncaa channels.

-jk


I love consistency! I was thinking of the ESPNWatch application. With Time Warner Cable, you must subscribe to a cable package that includes ESPN and have Internet through TimeWarner (RoadRunner). Without both, you won't get authenticated (or so they warn), meaning it requires credentials EVERY TIME, even on TWC's lines (which has held for me). Could there be similar situation that a basic cable package could not include TBS, TNT, and TruTV and therefore force you to log in each time? Or was it being nice because I didn't go past the 4 complimentary hours? I'd rather error on having people over-prepared for login contingencies than having to scramble at work and miss the game. I'd hate to find out that after 4 hours, it'll stop and ask for authentication under some unusual circumstances. At least Duke's first game is on CBS, so that will be free for everyone.

I also was able to see the feed without authentication on my phone, both my home Wi-Fi and through Verizon. It's also 45 seconds behind using either network.

[-jk]

Ah, well... I suspect we'll know much more tomorrow afternoon (as either everything becomes clear - or perhaps murkier).

Please let us know how Internet viewing works for you. As you're able, please post your home Internet provider, the isp you watched on (work, mobile, whatever), which game/channel you were watching, and what authentication you were asked to provide. Maybe we can "crowdsource" some answers.

Thanks,

-jk

[devil84]

I've updated the top post with some more information. I've added the DirectTV channels that sagegrouse posted, Deslok's international information, and some clarification on how the NCAA March Madness is requiring authentication from your cable provider. They've got a great help/FAQ document (http://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/help#!login) that has a lot more information.

Only 30 more minutes until the start of the Round of 64! Enjoy the games!

[TNDukeFan]

No popups or spam for me...here's Bucknell-Butler

http://www.stream2watch.me/basketball/bucknell-vs-butler-live-stream

[-jk]

Using the NCAA iphone app, I was able to watch the Bucknell/Butler game (TruTV) on my iphone, over verizon, without logging in.
I'm also able to watch the Wichita St/Pitt game (tbs) over both comcast and verizon without logging in.

-jk

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

Using the NCAA iphone app, I was able to watch the Bucknell/Butler game (TruTV) on my iphone, over verizon, without logging in.
I'm also able to watch the Wichita St/Pitt game (tbs) over both comcast and verizon without logging in.

-jk

Yes, but once your 4 hours of watching on the app are up, you'll need your TV provider, username, and pw.

Here's a good summary from Multichannel (http://www.multichannel.com/distribution/turner-sports-taps-authentication-ncaa-tourney-coverage/141814), a publication that covers the industry:


The tournament is still a month away, but college basketball fans will want to make sure they know their pay-tv provider identification number in order to fully enjoy the 2013 version of the Madness.

Produced by Turner Sports, March Madness Live will offer free streaming of the 67 games comprising the 2013 NCAA Division Men’s Basketball Championship across myriad online, mobile and tablet devices to pay TV subscribers. Users will gain access to all games on TNT, TBS and TruTV on their preferred digital device by logging in with their TV service provider information, while all games on broadcast teammate CBS will be accessible sans registration requirements. Those who are not pay-tv subscribers will be able to check out up to four hours of live game streaming on NCAA March Madness Live, without viewer registration.

[-jk]

Interesting. I wonder how they'll enforce it...

-jk

[Tucknut]

Has there been a pre-game press conference with Coach K yet? I keep checking ESPNU and have seen most of the coaches but nothing yet with Duke. Unless I missed it.