Watching NFL games without cable is getting a lot more complicated for the 2023 season. In this article, I’ll help simplify it for you.
How to Stream NFL Games in 2023
| What do you want to watch? | What you need |
| Local NFL team | Antenna, live TV streaming service or Paramount+ (CBS games only) |
| Out-of-market Sunday afternoon games | NFL Sunday Ticket for full games and NFL RedZone for touchdowns only |
| Sunday Night Football | NBC or Peacock |
| Monday Night Football | ESPN and ABC; select games on ESPN+ |
| Thursday Night Football | Amazon Prime Video or Twitch |
| NFL International Series | ESPN+ and NFL Network |
| Super Bowl | CBS or Paramount+ |
Sunday Afternoon Games – CBS and FOX
CBS continues to carry AFC games, and FOX has rights to NFC games.
There’s only a streaming alternative for the CBS games. Paramount+ streams the NFL on CBS with all plans, even the $5.99 per month plan called Essential.
For 24/7 access to your local CBS station, you can opt for the $11.99 a month Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan.
Although FOX owns the free streaming service Tubi, it doesn’t stream NFL games on the service and hasn’t indicated that it plans to do so.
The cheapest way to get CBS and FOX is with an antenna. I have a Mohu Leaf indoor antenna.
If you don’t have an antenna, you can get all of your local stations with a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Fubo or DIRECTV STREAM.
Sling TV doesn’t have full local coverage. It only carries ABC, FOX and NBC in select cities.
YouTube TV is my #1 pick for NFL fans. In addition to local coverage, it has ESPN, NFL Network and the option to add NFL RedZone for $10.99 per month.
I also like YouTube TV’s easy navigation, unlimited cloud DVR and new multiview feature for sports fans.
Out-of-Market Sunday Afternoon Games
If you like to follow teams outside of your home market, NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone are two premium services you may want to consider.
- NFL Sunday Ticket: All out-of-market Sunday afternoon games during the regular season
- NFL RedZone: Every touchdown from Sunday afternoon games during the regular season
NFL Sunday Ticket is available as an add-on to YouTube TV or as a standalone service through YouTube Primetime Channels.
The regular price for Sunday Ticket starts at $349, though it’s being discounted at the time of this writing.
NFL RedZone is a much cheaper option. It’s available as an add-on through live TV streaming services or as part of the $14.99 per month NFL+ Premium plan.
Sunday Night Football – NBC/Peacock
There’s no change with Sunday Night Football for the 2023 season. It airs on NBC and also streams on Peacock to Premium and Premium Plus subscribers.
NBC and Peacock will carry the NFL Kickoff Game and a Thanksgiving game. See the full schedule.
Aside from Sunday Night Football, Peacock is getting two exclusive games. One is during the regular season and the other is a playoff game.
- Saturday, December 23, 2023: Buffalo Bills vs. Los Angeles Chargers at 8p ET
- Saturday, January 13, 2024: NFL Wild Card Playoff
Since these Peacock-exclusive games are later in the season, check for deals on the service around Black Friday. I update deals at MichaelSavesDeals.com.
Monday Night Football – ESPN and ABC
Monday Night Football is back on ESPN, which requires a pay-TV subscription.
Most MNF games will also air on ABC. Details here.
Your cheapest option for ESPN without cable is Sling Orange at $40 per month, but that service doesn’t have your local channels. Sling Blue has ABC, NBC and FOX in select markets only.
That’s why a lot of people end up getting YouTube TV or Hulu Live for the NFL season.
IMPORTANT: If you only care about your local team, know that Monday and Thursday night games are shown on broadcast TV in the cities of the participating teams.
Thursday Night Football – Amazon Prime Video
Thursday Night Football returns to Amazon Prime Video for the 2023 season and includes a Black Friday game.
If you’re not subscribed to Amazon Prime, you can get 30 days free. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year.
Thursday Night Football also streams free on Amazon-owned Twitch.
NFL Network Games
Aside from preseason games, you’ll need NFL Network to watch four 2023 International Series games, a Saturday tripleheader and a Christmas Eve game. Learn more here.
Live TV services offer NFL Network. It’s also been added to NFL+.
ESPN+
ESPN+ has one exclusive game this season in Week 4 to kick off the NFL’s International Series. That’s on Sunday, October 1, 2023. The game is between the Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars.
A dozen NFL games will be streamed on ESPN+ this season, but it’s not a total replacement for ESPN.
Super Bowl 2024 – CBS
CBS will carry Super Bowl 2024 on Sunday, February 11. You can stream it through a live TV streaming service that carries CBS or Paramount+.
NFL+
For the regular and postseason, stream live local and primetime games with NFL+ starting at $6.99 a month. This is for phones and tablets only — not TVs.
NFL+ allows you to stream NFL Network to all devices (including) TV sets.
In addition, a premium version of NFL+ for $14.99 per month now offers NFL RedZone to be streamed across all devices.
