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The Philadelphia Eagles enter the 2018-19 NFL season as defending Super Bowl champions for the first time, but there are a bevy of other teams–Patriots, Rams, Steelers, Vikings, Packers, Saints, Falcons, Jaguars, Chargers, Texans, Chiefs–with a legitimate chance at spoiling Philly’s quest for back-to-back titles next February.
It’s going to be a fun season.
All games in 2018 will be broadcast on either Fox (games based on your location), CBS (games based on your location), NBC (nationally televised), ESPN (nationally televised) or NFL Network (nationally televised).
If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of all in-market and nationally televised games on your computer, phone or streaming device via one of the following services:
Hulu With Live TV: Includes Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, 50 total channels, 50 hours of cloud DVR, and Hulu’s complete library of TV shows and movies.
FuboTV: Includes Fox (some games available in 4K), CBS, NBC, NFL Network, 85 total channels, 30 hours of cloud DVR, and ability to watch games on-demand up to three days after they air even if you didn’t DVR them.
Sling TV: Includes Fox, NBC, ESPN, NFL Network, 40-plus channels, and 50 hours of cloud DVR (not included in the base package but available as an add-on).
Amazon Prime: All in-market CBS games can be watched with a subscription to Amazon Prime and the Amazon CBS Channel.
For out of market games, you may be able to watch via NFL Sunday Ticket.
Here’s a further rundown of all your options:
In-Market & Primetime Games: Hulu With Live TV
Hulu
Hulu with Live TV offers the perfect mix of entertainment and live sports for cord-cutters.
Not only does it come with an extensive Netflix-like library of on-demand TV shows (Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.) and movies, but it also includes essentially every channel needed to watch NFL games in 2018 (NFL Network isn’t included, but most of the NFL Network games are also broadcast on Fox and Amazon Prime). Also, the local channels are available in most markets.
There are lots of nice user experience features, too. The interface allows you to add specific teams to “My Stuff,” you can get mobile push notifications for when games begin, there’s a Sports filter in the Live guide, you can watch on two devices at once, and 50 hours of cloud DVR are included.
Total Channels Included: 50-plus (exact number depends on local channels in your market), including Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN, as well as Hulu’s on-demand streaming library (a $7.99 or $11.99 per month value).
Pricing Options: Hulu With Live TV (with the “Limited Commercials” on-demand plan): $39.99 per month | Hulu With Live TV (with the “No Commercials” on-demand library plan): $43.99 per month
Extras: The regular Hulu With Live TV plan allows you to watch on two different devices at the same time, but you can watch on unlimited screens at the same time for $15 per month extra; 50 hours of cloud DVR is included, but you can upgrade to 200 hours of enhanced cloud DVR for $15 per month.
How to Sign Up: Go to the Hulu website and select “Sign Up Now”. After creating an account, select your desired package and then enter your payment information.
How & Where to Watch: If you want to watch on your computer, simply return to the Hulu website and select “Start Watching” at the top of the page, and then “Live TV.” Then scroll to your desired channel to start watching. You can also search NFL or a specific team.
If you want to watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device, you can do so via the Hulu app, which is free to download for the following devices: Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, select Smart TV’s and other devices.
In-Market & Primetime Games: FuboTV
If you can get past the lack of ESPN (which will have two games in Week 1 and then just one game per week after that) FuboTV is one of the best streaming services for watching live sports and NFL.
Not only does it have Fox, CBS, NBC (all available in most markets) and the NFL Network (plus FS1, Pac-12 Network and Big Ten Network for college football fans) all in the main “Fubo” package, but NFL Redzone is available in the “Sports Plus” add-on.
In terms of user experience, it has some games on Fox available in 4K, an interface that lets you search by sport, you can watch on two different screens at once, 30 hours of DVR are included, and there is a handy “72-hour lookback” feature, which lets you watch games on-demand up to three days later even without recording them.
Total Channels Included: About 85 (exact number depends on local channels available), including Fox, CBS, NBC and NFL Network. The “Sports Plus” add-on has 20, including NFL Redzone
Pricing Options: The “Fubo” package costs $39.99 for the first month, and then $44.99 per month after that. The “Sports Plus” add-on costs $8.99 per month
Extras: Watch on two different devices at once; 30 hours of cloud DVR; “72-hour lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games and shows up to three days after they air, even if you forgot to DVR them
How to Sign Up: Head to the FuboTV website and select “Start Your Free Trial”. After creating an account, select your channel package and any extras if you want. You’ll need to enter your payment information, but if you cancel your subscription within seven days of signing up, you will not be charged.
How & Where to Watch: If you want to watch on your computer, just return to the FuboTV website and navigate to your desired channel to start watching live TV. You can also search by sport to find the specific game you want to watch. The Chrome browser is suggested.
If you want to watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device, you can do so via the FuboTV app, which is free to download for the following devices: Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones
In-Market & Primetime Games: Sling TV
If you just want to watch games on Fox and NBC, Sling TV offers a cheap price point, as the “Sling Blue” base package ($25 per month) has both of those channels.
Of course, that’s only $15 and $20 less per month than Hulu with Live TV and FuboTV, and you’re getting far fewer channels, CBS isn’t included, ESPN is in the “Sling Orange” bundle, which is another $15 per month, and DVR is another $5 per month. It’s fine for keeping things basic, but if you want to watch as many games as possible, or if you want everything that Hulu and Fubo include, the overall value isn’t nearly as good.
Total Channels Included: Sling Blue has 40-plus channels (exact number depends on local channels available), including Fox, NBC and NFL Network. Sling Orange has 29 channels, including ESPN. The “Sports Extra” add-on has 10 channels, including NFL Redzone
Price: Sling Blue: $25 per month | Sling Orange: $25 per month | Sling Orange+Blue: $40 per month | Sports Extra add-on (w/Orange): $5 per month | Sports Extra add-on (w/Blue): $10 per month
Extras: Watch on one device at once with Sling Orange or three devices at once with Sling Blue; 50 hours of cloud DVR is $5 per month extra.
How to Sign Up: Go to the Sling TV website and select “Watch Now 7 Days Free.” After creating an account, select your channel package and any extras you want, then enter your payment information to sign up.
How & Where to Watch: If you want to watch on your computer, just return to the Sling TV website and navigate to whatever channel you want to start watching live TV. If you want to watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device, you can do so via the Sling TV app, which is free to download for the following devices: Amazon Fire TV or TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones, Fire tablets, and Xbox One.
Games on CBS: Amazon Prime
Amazon
If you have Amazon Prime or want to start a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, you can watch all CBS content (both live and on-demand) via the CBS Amazon Channel, which also comes with a 7-day free trial.
Once you’re signed up for both Amazon Prime and the CBS channel, you can then watch a live stream of your local CBS channel on your computer via the Amazon website, or you can watch on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Amazon Video app.
This option is available in all 32 NFL cities, as well as most other markets.
Watch on Your Phone: NFL Mobile
Streaming of in-market and prime-time games can be watched on phones via the NFL Mobile app.
Out-of-Market Games
SundayTicket.TV allows you to watch a live stream of games that are out of your market and aren’t nationally televised. The service is available for people who live in residences that can’t get satellite (apartments, condos, etc.), as well as residents of San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York City. You can check here to see if you’re eligible.
Additionally, most college students may watch out-of-market games via SundayTicket U.
Once signed up, you can watch games on your computer via the NFL Sunday Ticket website, or you can watch on your phone, tablet or other streaming device via the NFL Sunday Ticket app, which is free to download on many different devices.
Watch Games on Demand: NFL Game Pass
If you’re fine watching games on-demand, another option is NFL Game Pass Domestic, which allows you to watch replays of every NFL game for a fee of $99.99 for the season. No live games are available under this service, but you’ll be able to watch them following the conclusion of games for the day.
Once signed up, you can watch games on-demand on your computer via the NFL Game Pass website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NFL Mobile app, which can be downloaded for free on a handful of different devices.
If You’re Outside the United States & Mexico
If you’re not in the United States, surrounding territories, or Mexico, you can watch NFL games live via NFL Game Pass International. The cost of the package depends on which country you’re in.
Once signed up, you can watch games on your computer via the NFL Game Pass website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NFL Mobile app, which can be downloaded for free on a handful of different devices.
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How to Watch NFL Games Without Cable in 2018