2024 NFL Preseason Streaming Options: Hulu, DIRECTV STREAM, More

The 2024 NFL preseason is here, giving teams a chance to finetune their rosters over three weeks of exhibition action before the start of the 2024-2025 NFL season on Thursday, Sept. 5. Things kick off on Thursday, Aug. 8 when the Carolina Panthers take on the New England Patriots at 7 p.m. ET, live on NFL Network, followed by 47 preseason games leading up to an AFC title game rematch between the Super Bowl champs, Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens to kick off the regular season. Keep reading to see all your options for streaming NFL preseason action.

The 2024 NFL Preseason is airing on ESPN, ABC, Fox, CBS, NBC, and NFL Network, which means Hulu + Live TV, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, and YouTube TV all carry the needed channel. Sling TV isn’t a great option because it only carries ABC, NBC, and Fox in select markets, while not carrying CBS at all. You can also watch out-of-market NFL preseason games with NFL+.

All the ways to stream the 2024 NFL Preseason:

How to Watch Your Local Team’s NFL Preseason Games

Unlike the regular season where every NFL game is broadcast by a national broadcast network, cable channel, or streaming service, during the preseason, each franchise is able to strike its own distribution deal with local providers. Therefore, most NFL preseason games are available on local channels, which you can watch with over-the-air antennas, with a cable or satellite subscription, or via a live TV streaming service.

If you are a cord-cutter looking for a live streamer to watch games on, the first thing that you need to do is check which affiliates will be carrying preseason action in your market. This should be fairly easy to do by consulting the schedule of your local NFL team. There are a number of streaming options that will almost assuredly provide access to whichever channel will be covering the team in your area, however, depending on the channel and the service, not all of them will.

In most cases, we recommend Hulu + Live TV because of its breadth of channel offerings, three-day free trial, and the added bonus of the Disney Bundle — featuring ESPN+ — being included at no extra cost. However, in October, the price for the service will be rising to at least $82.99 per month. This change won’t go into effect until after the preseason is over, but if you are looking for a live streamer for preseason action, it seems logical that you would also want to watch the regular season as well.

If you are looking for a more affordable streamer, Sling TV is worth a look. Starting at $40 per month, the streamer is a much more economical option, however, it does not carry CBS in any market and only has ABC, Fox, and NBC in select cities. So, make sure that your team isn’t exclusively airing preseason games on your CBS affiliate, and make sure you live in a region where Sling does provide access to the channels you are looking for. You can get more information on what markets Sling carries broadcast channels in below or by clicking here.

Top Choice to Watch NFL Preseason Games: Hulu + Live TV

Hulu + Live TV is our favorite way to watch the 2024 NFL Preseason, especially now that it offers a three-day free trial. And with plans starting at $76.99 per month, you can save a bit of money by going with this service. Not only does it carry all the channels you need to watch NFL preseason football, but it also includes Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu in the price, which is a $14.99 monthly value. That makes Hulu + Live TV too good of a bargain to ignore for those who like to optimize their budgets.

Best to Watch Out-Of-Market NFL Preseason Games: NFL+

All games not on national TV will stream live on NFL+ for out-of-market fans who want access to exclusive live games that are not being aired in their local area. During the regular season, NFL+ broadcasts are restricted to phones and tablets and are not able to be cast to TVs, however, during the preseason, you are able to stream them on your smart TV and streaming devices via the NFL+ app.

Cheapest (but Incomplete) Option: Sling TV

Sling TV isn’t a great option for watching the NFL preseason because it only offers ABC, NBC, and Fox in select areas, while not offering CBS at all. That means you’d have to find another way to watch the Arizona Cardinals take on the Denver Broncos on Aug. 25.

Sling TV offers ABC in its Blue plan in eight major markets across the country: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno.

While the live streaming service does in fact carry NBC, it only does so in 11 major markets across the country. So, if you live in one of the regions listed below, you are able to stream NBC, but if now, you should probably explore some of our other recommended options.

Finally, Sling TV offers Fox in 18 major markets across the country. So, if you live near one of the cities listed below, you will be able to tune in with a subscription to Sling Blue.

Other Options for Watching NFL Preseason Games

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM and its huge selection of top channels is a great choice for watching the 2024 NFL Preseason if Hulu + Live TV isn’t right for you. DIRECTV STREAM comes with an impressive five-day free trial for all new customers, and for a limited time, you’ll also get Max, Paramount+, STARZ, and MGM+ free for three months when you sign up, all for $79.99 per month. Most importantly, DIRECTV STREAM carries all the channels you’ll need to watch the NFL Preseason when you add the NFL Network ($15 per month) to its base Entertainment package. And, if you want even more sports during the regular season, users can upgrade to the Choice plan to see their local NBA and NHL teams via regional sports networks.

Fubo

You can watch all the coverage of the 2024 NFL Preseason with Fubo as the service carries ABC, ESPN, CBS, Fox, NBC, and the NFL Network. Plans start at $94.99 per month, once you factor in the regional sports network (RSN) fee that most customers have to pay. It also includes a free trial, the length of which depends on what time of month you subscribe to the service. Especially good for sports fans is that the RSN fee will give you access to NBA, NHL, and MLB regular season games in many markets

YouTube TV

There’s nothing bad or wrong about YouTube TV, it’s a good live TV service overall; it just comes up a little shorter than the other services on our list. Plans start at $72.99 per month for this service, and while you will get all the channels you need to watch all of the 2024 NFL Preseason, you won’t get much in the way of free extras with this service.

Streaming Services That Carry NFL Games, but Have Limited Preseason Action

ESPN+

ESPN+ will not carry any 2024 NFL preseason aside from last week’s Hall of Fame Game. During the 2024-25 season, the platform will offer 25 regular season broadcasts, almost all of them simulcasts of games airing on ESPN and ABC. However, on Oct. 21, ESPN+ will be the exclusive home for the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Chargers. So, there are plenty of reasons to sign up for ESPN+ to get your fill of football, but you won’t need that subscription until the regular season kicks off.

In addition to all of the NFL action, ESPN+ offers thousands of live sporting events, along with original shows like Peyton’s Place, the entire library of 30 for 30, E:60, The Last Dance, and more. Subscribers can enjoy daily out-of-market MLB games, every out-of-market NHL game with NHL Power Play (previously NHL.TV), exclusive NFL regular season games, and select Monday Night Football simulcasts, along with extensive soccer coverage including Bundesliga, LaLiga, FA Cup, and more. You can subscribe to ESPN+ for $10.99 per month or $109.99 per year.

Peacock

Peacock will allow you to simulcast all of the NFL preseason games that appear on NBC, including the New England Patriots at Washington Commanders on Sunday, Aug. 25, as it will with all of the regular and postseason games. However, you won’t be able to watch any other preseason games with this service.

Prime Video

Yes, Prime Video is set to carry one preseason game on Thursday, Aug. 22 between the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals at 8 p.m. ET. They are also set to host “Thursday Night Football” during the 2024 NFL regular season, and their first-ever NFL Wild Card Playoff game.

Paramount+

You may be able to watch the CBS broadcast of the Sunday, Aug. 25 game between the Arizona Cardinals vs. Denver Broncos at 4:30 p.m. ET with Paramount+ as the service does simulcast sporting events that appear on CBS. You won’t be able to watch any other preseason games with the service, though.

Streaming Services That Will Not Carry NFL Preseason Games

Netflix

The world’s largest streaming service will get into the NFL broadcast game on Christmas Day with a pair of games between the Kansas City Chiefs and [Pittcburgh Steelers] and the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. However, those will be the only football games on Netflix’s schedule this season. So, while you will have to tune into Netflix for football this year, you will just have to wait until December to do so.

In the meantime, the streaming giant has a number of NFL-themed documentary series, including “Quarterback,” “Receiver,” and “America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.”

Max

Unfortunately, the 2024 NFL Preseason will not appear on Max this year. While Max is now offering plenty of live sports on the service, especially since they added the Bleacher Report add-on in October, NFL exhibition action will not appear on Max. It’s still a solid service though, especially since Max announced that it won't begin charging users to watch the Bleacher Report add on for quite some time. That means you can watch NBA and NHL games that appear on TNT, TBS, and TruTV with this service.

All Live TV Streaming Services

Price: $86.99
Includes: ABC, ESPN, CBS, NBC, and Fox + 30 Top Cable Channels

Add-on: $15 Sports Pack
Includes: NFL Network

Price: $82.99
Includes: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, NBC, and Fox + 32 Top Cable Channels

Price: $94.99
Includes: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, NBC, and Fox + 18 Top Cable Channels

Price: $72.99
Includes: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, NBC, and Fox + 31 Top Cable Channels

Price: $84.99
Includes: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, NBC, and Fox + 34 Top Cable Channels

Price: $55
Includes: ABC, ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, and Fox + 26 Top Cable Channels

Price: $12.99
Includes: CBS