Things have changed in recent years, and now you can’t watch certain NFL games without using streaming services. However, each streaming service will only air certain games, so it’s important to know which one is the best before you sign up. Here’s everything you need to know about which streaming services allow you to watch NFL games live on your TV, streaming device, phone, computer, and tablet.
Use An Antenna to Watch Local Games for Free
The majority of football games this season will be broadcasted live on four major networks: CBS, FOX, ABC, and NBC. So, as long as you live within broadcast range of these networks, you should be able to use an antenna to watch in-market football games for free.
The NFL usually splits Sunday afternoon games between two networks, with AFC games airing on CBS and NFC games airing on FOX. If you want to watch Sunday night football games, you’ll have to tune into your local NBC affiliate channel, while a few Monday Night Football games will be aired on ABC.
Best Streaming Services for Live TV Channels
If you are looking for streaming services that allow you to watch the most live NFL games, you should choose YouTube TV. The next-best options are Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream, and FuboTV. All of these streaming services come with additional benefits, like DVR cloud storage and no long-term contracts.
However, most of these streaming services only allow you to tune in to your local broadcast affiliates. So, you can only watch games in-market games, based on your location, or games that air on national channels, like CBS Sports Network.
YouTube TV: Best Streaming Service Overall
- Subscription Plans: Start at $72.99/month, plus $349/year with NFL Sunday Ticket add-on or $389/year with NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone
YouTube TV is easily the best streaming service to watch live football this season. It gives you access to over 100 live channels, including CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. That means you’ll be able to watch most in-market and national NFL games.
Starting this season, YouTube TV will also be the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket, which lets you watch all out-of-market Sunday afternoon games. However, this is only available as an add-on that costs an extra $350 a year, making it one of the most expensive options.
You don’t need a YouTube TV subscription to get NFL Sunday Ticket, but you won’t be able to watch regular season games or any other channels on YouTube TV. This standalone plan starts at $449 a year, and it only lets you stream Sunday afternoon games live through your YouTube account.
No matter which package you choose, you can also add NFL RedZone for an additional $40 a year, which gives you access to 7 hours of live football news and analysis. If you act now, you can save $50 on any of these packages before September 19.
With YouTube TV, you’ll also get unlimited cloud DVR space to record any games, and you can watch up to 4 games simultaneously on the same screen with the Multiview feature. You and 5 members of your family can share YouTube TV on up to 3 devices at home or 2 devices outside your WiFi network.
Another reason to pick YouTube TV is the easy-to-use interface. You can choose your favorite teams and automatically record any games they play. Plus, you’ll be able to quickly pull up statistics on any player during the game and pause or rewind live channels after you start watching them. you
Hulu + Live TV: Best Streaming Service for Live Football + TV
- Subscription Plans: Start at $69.99/month or $82.99/month without ads, plus $9.99/month for the Sports Add-on
Hulu + Live TV gives you access to 85+ live channels, including CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. That means you’ll be able to watch all in-market NFL games.
Unlike YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to ESPN+, so you will be able to stream the 1 game that will air exclusively on the streaming service this season. Plus, you’ll get a huge library of on-demand TV shows and movies from Hulu, but you will have to sit through ads unless you upgrade to the Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV plan.
Like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV also comes with unlimited DVR storage, but you can only stream on 2 devices at once unless you pay for the Unlimited Screens add-on. You can also catch every touchdown on Sunday afternoon with NFL RedZone, but you will need to pay extra for the Sports Add-on.
DirecTV Stream: Best Streaming Service for Live TV and Other Sports
- Subscription Plans: Start at $74.99/month or $99.99/month for the Choice plan, plus $14.99/month for the Sports Pack
For years, DirecTV Stream was the exclusive home of NFL Sunday Ticket, and it’s still one of the best streaming services for live sports. Depending on your area, a Choice plan or higher gives you access to 105+ live local channels, including CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. So, you’ll be able to watch most in-market NFL games.
You can also get NFL RedZone with the DirecTV Sports Pack, which costs an extra $9.99 a month. This plan will also give you access to the MLB Network, Golf Channel, NBA TV, NHL Network, the Tennis Channel, and more.
FuboTV: Best Streaming Service for Live Sports
- Subscription Plans: Start at $74.99/month or $84.99/month for the Elite plan, plus $10.99/month for the Sports Plus add-on
FuboTV is one of the best streaming services for sports junkies. The base plan gives you over 168 channels, including CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. If you upgrade to the Elite package, you get access to an additional 77 channels, including NBA TV, MLB Network, NHL Network, and more.
Unlike the previous streaming services, Fubo was originally designed for streaming sports. So, there are lots of ways to follow your teams, get stats on your favorite players, and more. Plus, FuboTV offers lots of other live sports content, including college football.
You can also get NFL RedZone with the Sports Plus add-on, which costs an additional $10.99 a month. The base plan comes with 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage, but you can only stream on 2 devices at once unless you get the Elite package, which lets you stream on up to 10 devices at once.
Sling (Blue): Best Budget Streaming Service for Live Sports
- Subscription Plans: Start at $45/month or $60/month for the Orange & Blue plan, plus $11/month for Sports Extra
Sling is another streaming service that is designed for live sports. The Blue subscription plan gives you access to 42 live channels, including FOX, NBC, ABC, and the NFL Network. However, CBS is not available on Sling, so you will need to get another streaming service to watch many Sunday afternoon games.
You will also need a Sling Orange plan to get access to ESPN, but you can bundle both plans together. You can also pay an extra $11 a month for the Sports Extra package and get NFL RedZone and other sports channels, like NBA TV, the MLB Network, the NHL Network, and the Golf channel.
With Sling, you get 50 hours of free DVR storage, and you can add more space for $5 a month.
Peacock: Best Streaming Service for Sunday Night Football
- Subscription Plans: Start at $5.99/month or $11.99/month for Premium Plus
With Peacock TV, you can stream 20 games, including 18 Sunday Night Football games this season, with the basic plan. However, you can also watch almost all these games with your local NBC affiliate channel, except for one game in week 16, which will air exclusively on Peacock.
Since Peacock is NBC’s streaming service, you will also get access to the network’s library of shows, like The Office, Parks and Recreation, Yellowstone, and more. However, these shows will have ads unless you upgrade to the Premium Plus plan, which also lets you download select titles and watch them offline.
Peacock is also the home of the WWE Network, so you can stream every live event, every episode of Raw and Smackdown, as well as thousands of hours of on-demand content with a Premium Peacock subscription.
Amazon Prime Video: Best Streaming Service for Thursday Night Football
- Subscription Plans: Start at $8.99/month or $14.99/month for Amazon Prime
Starting last year, Amazon Prime Video is now the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football. That means you can use the streaming service to watch 15 games that are airing on Thursday nights this year, including the first Black Friday matchup ever.
Each game will also be available through over-the-air stations in the two home markets, but you will need to check your local listings to find out which channel will air the game. You can also stream any Thursday Night Football games live on Twitch.
You can sign up for Amazon Prime Video for $8.99 a month, or you can get an Amazon Prime membership for $14.99 a month. As a Prime member, you’ll get Prime Video for free, as well as other benefits, such as free shipping, Amazon Music subscription, and more.
Paramount+: Best Streaming Service for Sunday Afternoon Football
- Subscription Plans: Start at $5.99/month
As the official streaming service of CBS, Paramount+ gives you access to all in-market games that air on CBS. That means you can watch several games live each Saturday. At just $6 a month, this is the cheapest streaming service that gives you access to the most live football games.
Paramount+ also gives you access to a library of over 40,000 TV episodes and movies from Paramount Studios, including Start Trek and major motion pictures, as well as content from Comedy Central. MTV, Nickelodeon, and other channels.
NFL+: Best Streaming Service for Mobile
- Subscription Plans: Starts at $6.99/month or $14.99/month for NFL+ Premium
NFL+ is one of the cheapest streaming services for watching live football games, but you can only watch in-market games and primetime broadcasts on your smartphone and tablet. You can also listen to all home, away, and national games in the season with live audio using the NFL+ app.
You can also upgrade to NFL+ Premium for full game replays on all your devices. You won’t be able to watch any live games on your TV, but the Premium subscription lets you watch games right after they air on any of your devices. The Premium plan also gives you access to NFL RedZone and removes ads.
