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The Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers continue preseason play on Friday night with a matchup at Bank of America Stadium.
The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, here’s a rundown of all your live stream options, which vary depending on if the game is televised in your market or not:
If The Game is Televised in Your Market
First, check to see what local channel the game is on in your area–it will be either ABC, CBS, CW, Fox or NBC. Then, if you sign up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services, you’ll be able to watch a live stream of one, some, or all of those channels, depending on the service.
For example, for fans in Miami, West Palm Beach or Greensboro, where the game is on CBS, Amazon Prime is your best option. In Raleigh/Durham, where the game is on ABC, Hulu with Live TV is the way to go. Unfortunately for those in Charlotte, the game is on CW–and there are currently no streaming services that have the CW live in that specific area.
Here’s a rundown of all the streaming services, what they include, and how to sign up and watch:
(Note that local channels are available live in select markets)
Local channels included: ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC
In addition to its massive Netflix-like library of on-demand movies and TV shows, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, which includes ABC, CBS, CW, Fox and NBC. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of any of those channels on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch the game live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Local channels included: CBS
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.
Local channels included: CBS, CW, Fox, NBC
A streaming service that is largely tailored towards sports fans, FuboTV includes CBS, CW, Fox and NBC. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of those channels on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch the game live, FuboTV also comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch games and shows up to three days after they air even if you forgot to record them. The main FuboTV channel package also comes with NFL Network, which will air a replay of every preseason game.
Local channels included: Fox, NBC
Fox and NBC are both included in the “Sling Blue” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch a live stream of either channel on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on. “Sling Blue” also comes with the NFL Network, which will air a replay of every preseason game, so you can also watch that way if you miss it live.
If The Game is Not Televised in Your Market
You can watch every out-of-market preseason NFL game online via NFL Game Pass, which costs $99.99 for the season (or four installments of $29.99). Once signed up, you can watch games on your computer via the Game Pass website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the NFL app.
Game Preview
Miami is heading into tonight’s game with a completely different game plan than last week. According to the Sun Sentinel, defensive coordinator Matt Burke made drastic changes to the team’s starting defense after they lost 26-24 to Tampa Bay.
“We didn’t execute that part of it,” Burke said. “That was the most disappointing (aspect of the game).” He added that their new defense will narrow the focus to “intensity.”
“We can coach technique, we can coach scheme, we can game plan better for a scheme that we’re going to see,” Burke continued. “But to not just come out and line up, run hit and play with some passion and aggression and those sort of things, that was the most disappointing to me.”
“Speed” is the name of the game for Panthers head coach Ron Rivera. Charlotte Observer reports that he and offensive coordinator Norv Turner want to be efficient, and have made conscious decision to increase the speed of their play on the field.
“I think the biggest thing for us is that we want to play fast,” echoed running back Christian McCaffrey. “With that, everybody has a job to do. If they do it well, then we’re going to be pretty good. There’s not a secret formula, some kind of secret message that [Turner] is sharing with us. It’s just going out there, playing football, and trying to score on every single play.”
In addition to their game plan, the Panthers are still looking to nail down the backup quarterback position behind Cam Newton. Taylor Heinicke performed well against Buffalo last week, but Garrett Gilbert also makes a strong case. Observer journalist Jourdan Rodrigue noted that while Heinicke had the better game, Gilbert has been more consistent during practice, and a stronger arm. After Newton gets his time with the starters, this should be an interesting battle to watch play out.