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If you’re looking to watch UNC Wilmington vs. Virginia, East Tennessee State vs. Florida or several other 2017 NCAA Tournament games, it’s likely that you’re going to come across a question that college basketball fans around the country have been asking the last several years come March: What channel is TruTV?
While the actual channel differs depending on your location and TV provider, you can click here for a TruTV channel finder. Simply enter your zip code, and it will tell you where to watch the elusive network.
If you don’t have a cable provider, there are still ways to watch a live stream of TruTV, namely through Sling TV or DirecTV Now.
Here’s a complete rundown of your live stream options if you don’t have cable:
How to Watch a TruTV Live Stream
There are multiple options to watch games on TruTV: Viewers who don’t have a cable subscription will want to watch through Sling TV or DirecTV Now, while viewers with a cable subscription can watch through March Madness live.
For fans without cable: Sling TV and DirecTV Now are both online streaming services that offer access to select channels, including TruTV, for a monthly fee. Both services offer a free seven-day trial, and the services are extremely similar. You can click here to launch a free trial for Sling TV and click here to launch one for DirecTV Now. See below for step-by-step instructions on how to sign up for each.
Since both offer a free trial, you can’t really go wrong with either. And if you’re unsure which service will best serve your needs, you may want to launch a free trial with both, then keep whichever you like best, and drop the other.
One key advantage to Sling is that, once the free trial ends, it’s less expensive than DirecTV Now. Sling’s Blue package, which includes TNT, TBS and TruTV, costs $25. DirecTV Now’s Live a Little package, which also includes all three channels, costs $35 per month, and it’s the least expensive package the service offers.
DirecTV Now, though, has one major advantage itself: Users looking to watch on a computer can watch the tournament directly in their Internet browsers. Sling TV users, meanwhile, have to download a desktop app in order to watch. Users on mobile devices have to download an app for either service. Both services have an app for a handful of connected TV devices.
Here’s how to sign up for each service:
Sling TV on a Computer
1) Click here to go to the Sling website
2) Click on “Watch Now 7 Days Free”
3) Create an account
4) Select the channel package or packages you want. The “Sling Blue” package includes TNT, TBS and TruTV.
5) Enter your payment information. Sling Blue costs $25 per month, but if you cancel your subscription within seven days of signing up, you will not be charged
6) Download the app for your computer to start watching
Sling TV, Mobile & Other Streaming Devices
If you have a Sling TV subscription (read above to learn how to start a free trial), you can watch the games on the Sling TV app, which is free to download in the following places:
App Store (or Apple TV)
Amazon App Store (or Amazon Fire TV)
You can click here for a complete list of devices compatible with the Sling TV app.
DirecTV Now on a Computer
1. Click here to go to the DirecTV Now website.
2. Click on “start your free trial now.”
3. Select the package you’re interested in. All four packages include TruTV. The least expensive is the Live a Little package, which costs $35 per month after the free trial ends.
4. Enter your payment information. If you cancel the subscription before the free trial ends, you will not be charged.
5. Start watching the tournament right in your browser by navigating to TruTV.
DirecTV Now on Mobile & Other Streaming Devices
If you have a DirecTV Now subscription (read above to learn how to start a free trial), you can watch games on the DirecTV app, which is available in the following places:
App Store (or Apple TV)
You can click here for a list of devices supported by DirecTV Now.
