How to Watch NFL Football on a Streaming Service

Hulu + Live TV ($70 per month) offers much the same as FuboTV’s basic tier, with NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox Sports, NFL Network, and ESPN giving you access to nearly every game on Sunday, Monday, and Saturday. You can also get access to NFL RedZone by paying an additional $10 per month for the Sports Add-On. Bundled with the live television is access to regular old Hulu, which is one of our favorite streaming services thanks to its same-day access to new shows (such as Atlanta), exclusives (such as The Handmaid’s Tale), and a very impressive movie library for cinephiles. Note that the monthly price will increase to $75 as of December 8, 2022. If you’ll use the included Hulu, choose this over FuboTV. If not, save $5 a month (as of December) and go with FuboTV.

Sling TV ($35 per month) has two separate packages, Blue and Orange, both costing $35 per month and offering different channels. Blue has Fox Sports, NBC, and NFL Network games, while Orange has ESPN games. If you want to watch as many NFL games as possible, you’re going to have to sign up for both at a discounted rate of $50 per month. No Sling TV package carries CBS games, though, so you’ll miss those games shown exclusively on CBS. The Sports Extra add-on for $11 more per month gives you access to NFL RedZone. This is the package for you if you want to save money and are fine with not seeing all of the best games—or if you aren’t often at home in front of a TV on Sunday afternoons when CBS is broadcasting.

YouTube TV ($65 per month) is a wee bit more affordable than its best competitors, FuboTV and Hulu + Live TV, and offers much the same lineup of live broadcast channels as they do: CBS, NBC, Fox Sports, and NFL Network. It also regained ABC and ESPN after losing them briefly at the end of last year. It costs extra to enable a 4K Add-On, though; YouTube TV only says that prices vary. NFL RedZone is also available for $11 extra per month as an add-on. If there are other, non-sports related reasons to consider YouTube TV, then it’ll also enable you to watch the vast majority of NFL games just fine. If you’re shopping solely to watch football, though, FuboTV beats it out by a nose.

DirecTV Stream ($70 per month) doesn’t require a traditional DirecTV subscription and doesn’t lock you into any sort of contract. The entry tier, called Entertainment, gives you ESPN, Fox Sports 1, and local Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC games. You have to step up to the Ultimate tier for $105 per month to add CBS and Fox Sports 2. NFL Network is also missing. In my opinion, there’s no need to spend this much for DirecTV Stream. Go with one of the other options instead.

With Just an App

Want to cut the cord, ditch the traditional television providers entirely, and still not fork over close to $100 a year for a livestreaming service like YouTube TV or Sling TV? There are much cheaper options, but no single one will come as close to providing as many games as a live TV package. That said, even if you go with one of the choices above, you’ll still need one or more of the apps below to watch the NFL’s entire regular season.

NFL+ ($5 per month or $50 per year) replaced NFL Game Pass this past summer. There are a few major hang-ups to NFL+ that make it incomplete. For $5 a month or $40 a year, NFL+ lets you livestream local and primetime regular season and post-season games on mobile and tablet devices only. That means you can’t watch it on your computer or your TV. “Local” games are those available on TV in your local market, so if you’re a fan-in-exile living far away from your home team, you might be out of luck quite often. At least there’s a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. Upgrading to NFL+ Premium for $10 a month or $80 a year lets you replay old games ad-free. It’s double the cost for not double the value.

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