Football is back (sort of)! While the 2024 NFL preseason will not begin until August 1, the full 2024 NFL season schedule will be announced later this afternoon, opening the unofficial start of the 2024-25 NFL season. They are you ready to watch football? This season, NFL games will be broadcast on more than 10 channels and streaming platforms. If you’re worried about the challenge of following your favorite team through the upcoming season, from the NFL season opener to the 2025 Super Bowl, Yahoo Sports has you covered. Here’s your primer on how to watch the 2024-25 NFL season.
How to watch the 2024 NFL season:
Dates: September 4, 2024 – February 9, 2025
TV channels: ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and NFL Network
Streaming: Prime Video, Pavão, ESPN+, Paramount+, NFL+
2024 NFL Season Opening Week Schedule:
The 2024 NFL schedule arrives this afternoon on NFL Network.
How to watch NFL games in 2024:
Many NFL preseason games are broadcast on local channels, so if you want to watch a game in your market, it can be as simple as turning on your TV (or setting up a digital TV antenna) or find a live TV streaming service that carries the correct RSN (Regional Sports Network). If you want to watch out-of-market games, a $5 monthly premium NFL+ subscription will allow you to watch all local and primetime out-of-market season (and preseason) games on your phone – but only a select few games on your TV. You can also opt for the super expensive NFL Sunday Ticket package to get every Sunday game of the season out of market.
When it comes to nationally broadcast games, NFL games are typically broadcast on ESPN, NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC and NFL Network. Thursday Night Football Games Stream Exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Select Football Games Will Be Streamed exclusively on Peacock, games on CBS will stream live on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and select games will stream on ESPN+ this season. There are six channels and four streaming platforms to follow this season – and that’s not counting local RSN for in-market games and an NFL+ or NFL Sunday Ticket subscription for out-of-market games. Additionally, Netflix is currently in talks to become the exclusive place to watch NFL games on Christmas Day this year.
Overloaded? You are not alone. Here’s a breakdown of the platforms we recommend checking out ahead of the 2024 NFL season so that when game time rolls around, tuning into your favorite team’s games is as easy as simply turning on the TV….
(Fubo)
Fubo TV offers access to ESPN, NFL Network, Fox, ABC, CBS, NBC and over 100 live channels. At $80 a month, the live TV streaming service is definitely pricey (but certainly not the most expensive option on this list), but it offers almost all the channels you need to watch the preseason and regular season. of the NFL, and still leaves you with big savings compared to a traditional cable package. Fubo subscribers also receive 1,000 hours of cloud DVR storage. The platform also offers a free trial period.
- Full free trial package available
- 1000 hours of cloud DVR storage
(YouTube)
YouTube TV offers almost all the channels needed for the 2024 NFL season, including Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, and NFL Network. Plus, YouTube TV is the home of NFL Sunday Ticket this season! The Sunday Ticket package, while expensive on its own ($349/year), offers ALL non-market Sunday games (160+ games per season). If you bundle Sunday Ticket with YouTube TV, the cost of Sunday Ticket drops to $179 per year — or four monthly payments of $44.75, plus the YouTube TV price (which you’ll have to keep paying as long as you want to access your NFL Sunday Ticket package), which is currently available for $57.99/month for the first three months. The cost then goes up to $72.99/month, in addition to Sunday Ticket, for a grand total of $1,010 – which comes to about $85/month.
One thing to note: YouTube TV live streams tend to run with a slight delay, which isn’t great if you’re trying to catch the game live down to the exact second.
- Offers NFL Sunday Ticket Package
- Offers almost all the channels you need for NFL games
- Cost
- Blocked all year round if you bundle Sunday ticket
(Direc TV)
DirecTV Stream is currently offering its Choice tier (normally $109/month) plus a free month of DirecTV Sports Pack ($14.99/month) bundled for $98.99/month (plus tax) for the first month. DirecTV Stream’s Choice tier gives you access to all the usual football suspects: NFL Network, ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. The Sports Pack add-on offers ACC Network, Big Ten Network, SEC Network, and many local RSNs. The best part is that you can currently try all of this for free for 5 days. So if you’re interested in trying a live TV streaming service for football season but aren’t ready to commit, we recommend starting with DirecTV Stream.
You’ll also get unlimited cloud DVR storage included with any DirecTV package you choose.
- Full free trial package available
- Many local RSNs included
- Unlimited Cloud DVR
(Amazon)
Amazon Prime Video is the exclusive home of the NFL Thursday night football games. In addition to Amazon Prime Video, an Amazon Prime subscription includes free shipping, exclusive deals, access to the Prime Day 2024 sale event, Amazon Music, a year of free GrubHub+, and more. A standard Amazon Prime subscription costs $15 monthly or $139 annually, but discounts are available for students and those with qualifying government assistance. You can try Amazon Prime for free for 30 days.
- You probably already have access to Prime Video
- Only Thursday night football games
(NFL)
A basic $6.99 per month (or $40 annually) subscription to NFL+ delivers local and primetime, regular and preseason NFL games exclusively on your phone or tablet, plus live audio for everyone season games on supported devices and access to NFL Network. NFL+ Premium, while a bit more expensive at $14.99 per month (or $80 annually), also includes access to NFL RedZone, plus full and condensed replays of every game on supported devices. NFL+ also offers a 7-day free trial.
- You can only watch MOST games live on your phone
Channel master
Wait, a flat TV antenna? Shouldn’t these things have long, telescoping metal rods (aka rabbit ears)? No, this new design (which you’ll see on countless other brands) works just as well and isn’t made to sit on top of your TV. Instead, you mount it to a wall or window using the included adhesive pads, with the black or white side facing inward to better match your decor.
The aptly named Flatenna is actually as flat as a piece of paper. Simply screw one end of the 12-foot cable into the bottom and the other end into the coaxial input on your TV. (Yes, that means there’s an unsightly cable running down your wall; consider a track kit like this to help hide it.)
Channel Master promises range of up to 35 miles, but of course this depends on several factors. As noted above, ideal placement – as high and unobstructed as possible – makes all the difference.
The big news here is the price: At just $29, the Flatenna is quite affordable and a good place to start your antenna journey—assuming you’re okay with a black or white rectangle stuck to your wall or window.
This year’s NFL season begins on Thursday, September 4, 2024, with a game hosted by the 2024 Super Bowl winners, the Kansas City Chiefs. Immediately following the 2024 NFL kickoff game on Friday, September 5, the Green Bay Packers will face the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo. Peacock will be the exclusive streaming home for the first game of the NFL regular season in Brazil. The 2024-25 NFL season will also see international games in London and Munich.
2024 NFL Season Opening Week Schedule:
The NFL has announced the Week 1 season opener: Baltimore Ravens vs. Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, September 5 at 8:20 p.m. ET, broadcast nationally on NBC and streamed live on Peacock. The following day, the Eagles and Packers will play in São Paulo, Brazil, in an exclusive Peacock game.
Check back after the NFL schedule announcement for more details on the opening week schedule.
All the ways to watch NFL games this season:
To recap, here are all the ways you can watch NFL games in 2024.
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Channel Master Flatenna Ultra-thin Indoor TV Antenna
Watch NFL games on local channels like Fox, CBS and NBC
