How to Watch Live NFL Games After You’ve Ditched Cable
Are you ready for some (postseason) football?
Playoffs for the NFL season are here. And The Super Bowl is right around the corner, scheduled for Feb. 12, 2023.
If you’re like a lot of sports fans, you might have cut the cord a while back. With streaming services popping up all the time and television contracts changing, it can be hard to keep up with how to watch your favorite NFL team.
So how do you catch your team’s postseason contests?
All of the playoff games are broadcast by either ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox or on ESPN. As for the big game, Fox is exclusively broadcasting the Super Bowl. So If you have any of those network streaming services, you are set to go for the games each network broadcasts.
If you have made up your mind to stream the games, rather than watch on standard broadcast TV, you have a few options.
Here is a look at your viewing options based on the streaming services to which you subscribe.
Where to Stream NFL Playoff Games Without Cable
ABC/ESPN
The Disney-owned network only broadcasts one game through the first weekend (wild card round) of playoff games. That game is simulcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+. It does not carry any other NFL playoff games.
CBS
This network, which for decades was the go-to for the NFL, broadcasts games every weekend until the Super Bowl. CBS games also stream on Paramount+.
Fox
You can watch the Fox playoff games and the Super Bowl on any device through the Fox network app.
NBC
The Peacock network has games scheduled the first two weekends of the playoffs. You can watch them on Peacock Premium, which is $4.99 a month.
Other Options
YouTubeTV
For the price of $64.99, you can watch every NFL playoff game and the Super Bowl through the network YouTube channels. The YouTube subscription effectively signs you up for all of the network subscriptions at the same time.
NFL+
The league’s broadcast package ($4.99 a month) gets you all of the playoff games and the Super Bowl but they can only be watched on mobile devices. This is fine if you are going to watch the games by yourself somewhere where you do not have access to a normal TV monitor.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu+, which is also a part of your Disney+ package, offers live NFL playoff games and the Super Bowl.
fuboTV
fuboTV is a compilation of streaming services, including all of the networks providing NFL playoff games. The cheapest subscription package is $74.99.
Decisions, Decisions
When deciding which service to subscribe to for NFL games, consider:
- Which games the service offers
- Which extra NFL features (audio, replays, live programming options, etc.) the service provides
- The rest of your family
Most of the streaming services offer more than just sports coverage, and you may have family members who would like to watch true-crime dramas, romantic comedies or documentaries.
That’s good news to the family members who don’t want to watch guys throwing a ball around on Sunday, Monday and Thursday.
Kent McDill is a veteran journalist who has specialized in personal finance topics since 2013. Senior writer Robert Bruce also contributed.