How to Watch Every 2025-26 NFL Game
To see all the pro football action this year, you'll need a mix of streaming services even if you have cable TV
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If you want to catch lots of NFL football this year, you may feel like you’re playing another type of game—“Where’s Waldo?” That’s because many NFL games are being divided between broadcast stations, cable channels, and streaming services. (It’s true for other sports, too.)
The complications start right away. The 2025 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 4, with a highly anticipated matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. The game is being shown on NBC. The next night, you’ll need to go to YouTube for the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the San Diego Chargers. Then, starting next week, Thursday night games move to Amazon Prime and Twitch.
And that’s the way the rest of the season will go. To catch every game, you’ll need to constantly hop between big TV networks and a variety of streaming services.
The NFL's Weekly Schedule
Sundays
A majority of football action takes place on Sunday, starting on Sept. 7. Early and late afternoon games are split between CBS and Fox, while NBC airs a “Sunday Night Football” game.
You can watch all those games on the regular cable channels or you can stream them. The CBS games are available on the Paramount+ streaming service. The Fox games can be seen on the company’s new Fox One service. And the NBC games can be viewed on Peacock.
That’s most of the action. But to watch six international games shown early Sunday mornings, you’ll need the NFL Network (or NFL+; see details below). The regular season starts on Sunday, Sept. 7.
Mondays
“Monday Night Football” games, which return Sept. 8, are shown on ESPN. Many will also be simulcast on ABC stations.
Later in the season, there will be a few Monday nights when ESPN shows one game while another is broadcast on ABC. One game that was initially slated exclusively for ESPN+—the second half of a week 7 doubleheader, between the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks—will now air on ESPN.
As an alternative, you can also watch all these MNF games on the new ESPN Unlimited stand-alone streaming service, which costs $30 a month.
Thursdays
With the exception of the season kickoff game on NBC, all “Thursday Night Football” games are now on Amazon Prime and its subsidiary, Twitch.
Saturdays
The NFL hasn’t finalized its late-season schedule, but it regularly schedules Saturday games, usually in the final weeks of the season, to help determine playoff matchups. This year, Fox has the rights to air a Saturday doubleheader in week 16, on Dec. 20. In addition, Peacock will once again have an exclusive Saturday night game late in the season, and the NFL Network will be home to a few “Saturday Showdown” games.
Thanksgiving Day
Just like last year, a trio of Thanksgiving Day games will be played on Nov. 27. Afternoon games will be shown on CBS and Fox, followed by a night game on NBC. CBS has the option of producing an alternative version of the game it airs for its Nickelodeon network.
Black Friday
Amazon and Twitch will show a game the day after Thanksgiving, with the Chicago Bears hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in a matchup that starts at 3 p.m. ET.
Christmas Day
Fans of Christmas Day NFL action will need both Amazon and Netflix. Now in the second year of a three-year deal with the NFL, Netflix will stream two Christmas Day games this year, while Amazon will show a nighttime game.
Super Bowl LX
The Super Bowl returns to NBC and Peacock this season. The big game will be broadcast from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on February 8, 2026.
Below is a rundown of the various streaming services you’ll need to catch all the NFL action this year.
Amazon Prime
“Thursday Night Football” games are now on Amazon Prime and its subsidiary, Twitch. But you can still watch free over-the-air broadcasts for the teams in each of their local markets.
This season, TNF will air 16 regular-season games, starting with a Sept. 11 game featuring the Washington Commanders and the Green Bay Packers. Like last year, Amazon will have the Black Friday game, plus a game on Christmas night, as well as an exclusive NFL Wild Card playoff game in early January.
Amazon Prime costs $139 a year, but you can pay $9 a month for a stand-alone Amazon Prime Video membership that includes access to NFL games.
Sign up at Amazon Prime Video.
Cable Replacement Streaming Services
A handful of streaming services essentially replicate what you get with a traditional TV package. They include DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, and YouTube TV. All except Sling, which lacks CBS, provide access to the four major broadcast networks in most markets. But you should check each one to make sure it’s available in your area.
Most of these services start at about $85 a month. Sling’s combined Orange and Blue plan is less expensive, at $66 a month, but you’ll need to add Paramount+ to get NFL games on CBS.
DirecTV Stream is basically the streaming version of the DirecTV satellite service; prices start at $85 a month. To get both ESPN and the NFL Network, however, you’ll need to step up to the $90-a-month Choice plan.
The Hulu + Live TV bundle, $83 a month, has all the local broadcast stations in most markets, plus ESPN and NFL Network, along with Disney+ and ESPN Select (formerly ESPN+). You can get Hulu + Live TV by itself, but it doesn’t make much sense, given that it’s only one dollar cheaper than the bundle.
Fubo Pro ($85 a month) also has the local broadcast stations, plus ESPN and NFL Network. But starting this month, Fubo has a new offering, called Fubo Sports, a stand-alone plan with more than 20 sports and broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, and Fox, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, and others. ESPN Unlimited, which includes ESPN+, is also included. You’ll pay $46 for the first month, and then $56 a month after. (Disney is acquiring a majority stake in Fubo, but it will continue to be available as a separate service.)
YouTube TV subscribers can save more than $200 off the price of NFL Sunday Ticket (described below) compared with its cost as a stand-alone service. The price of NFL Sunday Ticket for new subscribers is $276 if you also get YouTube TV, compared with $480 if you don’t.
Sign up at DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Sling, and YouTube TV.
ESPN and ESPN Unlimited
You’ll need ESPN to watch “Monday Night Football” games because not all games will be simulcast on ABC. ESPN is available with most pay TV packages.
But the big news for the 2025 season is that ESPN is now available as a stand-alone streaming service. ESPN Unlimited, which includes ABC, all 12 ESPN network channels, and ESPN+, costs $30 a month.
An ESPN bundle—with ESPN Unlimited, Disney+, and Hulu with ads—costs that same $30 a month for the first year. After that, it’s $36 a month with ads or $45 without them.
Sign up at ESPN and ESPN Unlimited.
Netflix
As part of a three-year deal with the NFL, Netflix has the right to livestream Christmas Day games. This year, it will show two games: NFC division rivals the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders at 1 p.m. ET, and the Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings at 4:30 p.m. ET. (There will also be a night game shown on Amazon Prime.)
CBS Sports will produce the games, and NFL Media will produce the pregame, postgame, and studio halftime programming.
Sign up at Netflix.
Network Apps
If you subscribe to a cable or satellite TV service, you may be able to watch football when you’re on the go by using a network’s mobile app. The following apps require authentication, meaning you need to be a cable or satellite member.
CBS Sports: In addition to people who sign up for Paramount+, the network lets “authenticated” CBS viewers—anyone who gets CBS through a pay TV service—stream games via the CBS Sports app and online at CBS.com. Paramount+ subscribers can also use the CBS Sports app.
ESPN App: ESPN’s mobile app delivers “Monday Night Football” and shows such as “SportsCenter” once you authenticate that you get ESPN via a paid TV service.
Fox Sports: The Fox Sports app (and FoxSports.com) offers live coverage of local-market games and regional sports networks. You can also access the games through most cable-style streaming services, such as Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV. You can watch NFL games via FoxSports.com on your laptop or tablet and some streaming devices. You get access only to the channels in your TV lineup. The new Fox One service has its own app.
NBC Sports: Every 2025 “Sunday Night Football” game will stream live on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. Both require authentication proving you have a subscription to a pay TV service. The games will also be available on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service (see below).
NFL Network: This year, the NFL Network will air six early-morning international games starting on Sept. 28. There will also be a “Saturday Showdown” game on Dec. 27; the teams haven’t been announced yet. The NFL Network is available on many cable-style streaming services, such as DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV.
NFL+
Basically, NFL Game Pass has now morphed into NFL+, the league’s streaming service. It also replaces the NFL Mobile app, which allowed you to watch live games on a mobile device.
NFL+ lets subscribers access live in-market Sunday afternoon games and national games in prime time on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday nights. But they can be viewed only on a mobile device. This year, you’ll also be able to see the six exclusive early Sunday morning international games on NFL+. The games, which air at 9:30 a.m. ET, start on Sept. 28. There will also be a Saturday Showdown game on Dec. 27.
There are two pricing tiers. The basic NFL+ plan costs $7 a month and lets you watch games—including “Thursday Night Football”—live on a smartphone or tablet. You also get access to the on-demand NFL Films library. NFL+ Premium costs $15 a month and adds NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and full-length replays of all the NFL games.
One other note: You won’t be able to cast games to your TV from a mobile device if you were thinking that would circumvent the mobile-only limitation.
Sign up at NFL+.
Paramount+
If you like watching Sunday afternoon football games, you’ll want access to CBS. Cord-cutters can use the company’s Paramount+ streaming service to get access to the entire CBS NFL football season.
In addition to regional AFC Sunday afternoon games, you also get an AFC wild card showdown, AFC divisional playoff contests, and the AFC Championship game.
The games will be available on both the $8-a-month ad-supported Paramount+ Essential service and the $13-a-month mostly ad-free Paramount+ With Showtime version. You can also stream games on mobile devices.
Sign up at Paramount+.
Peacock
Peacock will let you stream all games slated to air on NBC during the 2025 season, including all “Sunday Night Football” games. It also has the first Thursday night game—on Sept. 5—before Amazon picks up the rest of the “Thursday Night Football” schedule.
This year, Peacock will also have an exclusive week 17 game on Dec. 27. NBC says it will offer all the Saturday night games in 1080 HDR on Peacock and on some ATSC 3.0 over-the-air broadcasts.
The ad-supported Peacock Premium service costs $11 a month or $110 a year if paid annually. The $17-a-month ($170 annually) ad-free Premium Plus tier removes the ads, though not on live programming.
Peacock has recently added some 4K movies to its lineup, but NBC hasn’t said yet whether it will offer any NFL games in 4K this year.
Sign up at Peacock.
Product Picks
Whichever service you choose, you’ll enjoy the game more if you have a great TV to watch it on. Here are a few sets from CR’s TV Ratings that offer great picture quality at various prices.
BEST TIME TO BUY:
