Football fans can finally cut the cord this NFL season without missing games, but it won’t save them very much money.
For the first time ever, NFL die-hards can watch every in-market game on their TVs without a pay-TV subscription, now that ESPN and Fox are available via their stand-alone apps.
Some sports fans have waited years to watch their favorite teams without paying for cable or satellite TV. They may be disappointed to learn that streaming is much more expensive than it once was.
Subscribing to every streamer that carries pro football would cost a pretty penny. In fact, NFL fans would only save $1.03 a month by streaming the league a la carte, according to a new analysis from MoffettNathanson’s Robert Fishman.
NFL fans would need Paramount+ and Fox One to watch in-market Sunday afternoon games on CBS and Fox, plus Peacock to watch NBC’s Sunday Night Football. ESPN’s revamped app carries Monday Night Football, and Amazon Prime Video carries most Thursday games (except for the season opener, and two of the three games on both Thanksgiving and Christmas).
Those five streaming services cost $77.95 a month combined. That’s just $1.03 less than the $78.98 it costs to get DirecTV’s sports-focused skinny bundle and then add on Prime Video separately.
NFL fans committed to not missing an in-market game would then pay about $8 more in December to see the games on Netflix. There are also six games this season on NFL Network. Fans can find that in DirecTV’s MySports package or on YouTube TV, or get it separately with NFL+, which costs $7 a month.
If fans want to stream out-of-market games as well, they would need to shell out for a pay-TV package.
Football superfans who don’t want to miss a snap of any game — even those out of market — need NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube TV, which costs $85 per month and doesn’t encompass the digital-only games on Prime Video or Netflix.
Although these sums may sound staggering to casual fans or those who don’t follow sports, many football followers will gladly pay up, one way or another.
“Regardless of where or even when NFL games air, one thing is certain: America will be watching,” Fishman wrote.
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