How to Stream NFL Games Without a Cable
If you want to watch NFL football in 2022 but don’t want to watch cable, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there are plenty of options for watching games without being tied to Cox or Time Warner. The bad news is that different games are spread across several different services, so it can be difficult to figure out how to watch the specific games you want to see.
NFL games will air this season on Fox, CBS, ESPN, NBC, Amazon Prime Video and The NFL Network, but which games you can watch typically depends on where you live. If you’re playing for a local team, you’ll be able to watch all or most of their games, but if you’re a fan of a non-local team, you can see all of their games, but that’s not the case. t will be cheap.
(Almost) free option
Unless you’re super hardcore or a fan of a distant team, you can watch every NFL football game you’ve ever wanted for almost free. With a $25 digital antenna , you can watch almost every regional game you could see if you had cable without paying for any streaming service if you live close enough to stations that broadcast games. Tune.
Sunday’s AFC games will air on CBS. Sunday NFC games will be on Fox. Sunday night games will be shown on NBC. As long as you’re within range of a local station broadcasting these networks, you’ll be able to watch these games (and local channels, plus a bunch of other weird shit that’s still airing as a bonus). just by installing a digital antenna.
You wo n’t be able to watch Monday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, or NFL Network games without cable or streaming. You will also not be able to watch games outside of the region.
Streaming services for NFL Football
Sling
Sling is NFL Football’s most budget-friendly streaming service, but it’s missing a lot of games. Sling offers two services: Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Both cost $35 per month, or you can combine them for $50. Blue offers NFL Network, Fox and NBC games (NFC Sunday afternoon games, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football) and Orange offers ESPN games. You cannot watch NFC (CBS) games through Sling.
Hulu, Fubo and YouTube TV
Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV have subscription tiers that let you watch local games from Fox and CBS, NBC’s Sunday night game, and NFL Network games, but none of them let you watch football outside the region or football in Thursday evening. . Hulu and Fubo will set you back $70 per month. A YouTube TV subscription is slightly cheaper ($55/month for the first three months, $65 after). These streaming services are very similar to cable, and while the football packages are the same, the other channels and content offered vary from service to service.
All three of these options offer the $10 or $11 add-on for NFL Redzone, a service that lets you watch touchdowns from every game. I find Redzone annoying and unwatchable, but some people like it.
Paramount Plus
A Paramount Plus subscription gives you access to local games that air on CBS for $5 a month.
peacock
For a $5/month subscription, you can watch NBC Sunday Night Football and no other NFL games.
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime is the only way to watch Thursday night football on TV, though those are the only games you’ll be able to watch through the service. An Amazon Prime Video membership costs $9 per month, but this service is included with Amazon Prime’s $139 per year or $15 per month, which also gives you free shipping on Amazon items.
NFL+
The newly launched NFL+ service costs $4.99 a month and lets you watch every regional game and Thursday night elusive game, but it has a huge catch: you can only stream to your mobile device and can’t stream to your TV. You also can’t watch games outside of the region.
Sunday NFL Ticket
If you want to watch NFL games from non-local teams, the NFL Sunday Ticket is the only (legal) option for you. But it’s not cheap and requires a DirecTV subscription, making the “no cable” issue moot. However, add an Amazon Prime subscription and you’ll have every NFL game at your fingertips.
The Sunday ticket lets you watch all games outside of the region for $293.94 for the entire season, while DirecTV lets you watch local games (except Thursday night games). A higher tier subscription, the NFL Sunday Ticket Max, costs $395.94 and adds the NFL RedZone and DirecTV Fantasy Zone, a new fantasy football channel.
Seriously, just buy a digital antenna.
If you have read the above and are thinking, “This is really hard. I just want to watch a goddamn football game, I agree. But installing a digital antenna is easy. It won’t show every game, but it will show most of them. Plus: it’s free, and your team’s Monday Night Football performance will be played in a bar outside anyway.