The NFL preseason is coming up soon and we have some methods and ways on how to stream the games this year.
One thing to point out is that unlike the regular season and playoff games, most of the games are covered by local stations and affiliates all across the U.S., with just a select small number of those games landing on national TV stations.
What is good news for fans is NFL Network is scheduled to carry 23 live preseason games this year. Please note that some of the games can get blacked out depending on your location and TV market.
Other channels such as NBC, FOX, CBS, and ESPN all do have plans to air at least a preseason game or two this season as well.
With that said, here is how you can stream the 2023 NFL preseason.
The first step is to have a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, or fuboTV, as those are some of your best bets for watching live games that are being broadcast on your local stations/affiliates. All three of those services also have NFL Network too.
Other live TV streaming services that will make for great options will be Sling TV, DirecTV and Vidgo.
Sling TV does not have local stations but the Sling Blue plan will get you access to NFL Network so that you’ll have a better chance at streaming games live. Vidgo does get you access to FOX and ABC but that depends on your location and TV market, as both of those networks and local stations are not as easily available there. However, both offer NFL Network.
Other streaming services that will have live NFL preseason content will be Peacock, Paramount+, and Prime Video.
Since NBC will be airing the 2023 Hall of Fame game on August 3 between the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, the game will also be streaming live on Peacock.
Prime Video will have its own preseason game on Thursday, August 24, between the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles, and CBS will be airing its only preseason game of the year on Friday, August 25, between the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers which will also stream live on Paramount+ for its ad-free subscribers.
The last and arguably the most beneficial of all the streaming services mentioned here will be NFL+ through the NFL app. The streaming service launched just last year and enables users to pay as low as $4.99 a month and stream their local TV market games from a mobile device like an iPhone or iPad.
When it comes to the preseason, the games can be streamed on those devices, as well as bigger-screen devices like the Apple TV. They just cannot be watched from the Apple TV during the regular season.
The photos below are of me using NFL+ on my Apple TV last year.
What are your thoughts on streaming the NFL preseason games? How do you plan on streaming them this year? Comment below or let us know on Twitter at @appleosophy.
