Stream NFL games for free and other low cost options

Thursday-Night-Football-Logo-05062014With the 2016 NFL season ready to start this weekend, we at Savings Beagle thought it would be a good time to go over your cord cutting options. There are lots of totally free options and low to medium priced plans if you want to get all the channels.

Totally Free

Most NFL games are broadcast on major networks that you can get for free via your antenna. CBS and Fox alternate weeks for the opportunity to broadcast double-headers at 1 and 4:15 PM Eastern. The other network will show one game at either 1 or 4:15 PM. NBC broadcasts games each Sunday night at 8:30 PM. That means if you have an antenna that picks up the major networks you will have four different games on each Sunday.

List of antennas from Amazon

USTVNowLogoUSTVNow is a free service that streams major networks online. That means that even if your antenna doesn’t get CBS, Fox or NBC, you can still see four games every Sunday. All channels come out of  Harrisburg, PA, so you will get that areas offerings (see schedules below). Signup is free without a credit card. The site is primarily for US citizens who happen to be abroad, but access to the site will not require documentation and I don’t believe they even check your IP address to see where you are streaming from. While requesting an account, users that select a country outside the US and check that they are US Citizens will gain access.  USTVNow also has a paid plan that includes ESPN. That is available for $19 a month for the first four months and $29 a month after. USTVNow does not include NFL Network and after 45 days the HD option for your free channels is gone. You may be able to open another free account to get your HD channels back.

CBS Channel 21 Harrisburg NFL Schedule

Fox Channel 43 Harrisburg NFL Schedule

Thursday Night Football

In addition to Sunday games, 10 Thursday Night Football games will be aired on either CBS or NBC. The NFL Network will air 18 games, most on Thursday night’s and some on Saturday and one game on Sunday,  Christmas day.  CBS and NBC will simulcast 10 of the Thursday contests. CBS joins in the first half of the season and NBC for the second half.

TwitterStarting last year, Twitter became a free source to watch NFL games online. Twitter will stream the same 10 Thursday night games as CBS or NBC and is a great option if you don’t have an antenna.

Here is the list of games streaming on Twitter for the 2016 season:

Week 2, Sept. 15: New York Jets at Buffalo Bills
Week 3, Sept. 22: Houston Texans at New England Patriots
Week 5, Oct. 6: Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Week 6, Oct. 13: Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
Week 7, Oct. 20: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Week 11, Nov. 17: New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Week 13, Dec. 1: Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
Week 14, Dec. 8: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 15, Dec. 15: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
Week 16, Dec. 22: New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

Cheaper than Cable

SlingTVCableTVAlternativeSling TV and Playstation Vue will get you access to ESPN and NFL Network games, but also most major network broadcasts if you have access to a local channels package. You won’t get extra games to choose from with the local channels as they will be the same options you would get with your local antenna, based on your region.  CBS is not on Sling TV, so you won’t be able to watch CBS games.

For $20 a month with Sling TV’s Sling Orange package (25+ channels) you will get ESPN games or $25 a month you can get NFL Network games with their Sling Blue package (40+ channels). You can get both ESPN and NFL Network with their Orange + Blue package (48 + channels) for $40 a month.

Playstation Vue has a larger base package than Sling TV and costs more.  In the seven cities (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, and Miami) where local channels are available their base Access Slim package (55+ channels) which includes ESPN costs $40 a month. For all other cities the base Access Slim package is $30 a month. You will need to step up to the Core Slim package (70+ channels)  to also get NFL Network and that comes in at $45 with locals and $35 without. Of course with local channels you will be able to get your local CBS, Fox and CBS streams as well.

 

Conclusion

The biggest bang for your buck is always an antenna when watching football. If you don’t have an antenna, try USTVNow and Twitter which will get you access to the largest number of games totally free.

For those that can’t miss out on Monday Night Football on ESPN, consider USTVNow, Sling TV or Playstation Vue. If you need those extra 8 games on NFL Network that aren’t on your local CBS, NBC or online at Twitter, you will need a higher priced package from Sling TV or Playstation Vue.

Whichever option you choose you will have tons of NFL football to watch this upcoming season without having to pay for cable or satellite.

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