How to watch Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens NFL Preseason Week 1

The NFL season is finally fully upon us, as the preseason opens up in earnest on Thursday, Aug. 7 with a tripleheader of games. The action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on NFL Network as the Baltimore Ravens will host longtime rivals, the Indianapolis Colts. The game is also set to air on WBAL in Maryland and WXIN in Indiana. You can find out the best way to stream locally here. For fans across the country, we recommend streaming the game with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV.

How to watch Baltimore vs. Indianapolis Preseason Week 1

• When: Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025 at 7 p.m. ET
• TV: NFL Network, WBAL, WXIN
• Stream: Watch with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV.
• From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a VPN.

Everything you need to know to stream Baltimore vs. Indianapolis Preseason Week 1:

Why we recommend DIRECTV to watch Baltimore vs. Indianapolis

When it comes to offering the most channels in streaming, every live TV streaming service is chasing DIRECTV. The platform offers the most of The Streamable’s top 35 cable channels, so if you are looking for a breadth of programming options, DIRECTV is a surefire hit. In addition, the streamer has the industry’s best guaranteed free trial. While others can roll out longer options depending on what time of year it is and what qualifications you meet as a customer, DIRECTV offers a five-day trial to all new users. So, if you are specifically looking to watch the Baltimore vs. Indianapolis game, this is the option that makes the most sense.

Related: The 2025 NFL preseason begins! See how to stream top games

But in the 2025-26 season of NFL and college football, for the first time, DIRECTV is able to offer an even more compelling package of channels for football fans. Earlier this year, DIRECTV launched its Genre Packs that allow people to pick curated channel lineups around central themes and genres, and for sports fans, that means the MySports Pack.

The MySports plan runs $70 a month after the aforementioned five-day free trial, which gives you a way to check it out everything that it has to offer before having to pay a penny. You’ll also get a bunch of great sports channels with MySports, including ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, FS1, FS2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, and USA Network, and depending on your market, ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC.

These channels bring you an incredible selection of games from across pro and college sports, oh, and MySports also comes with a free ESPN+ subscription? Pretty solid. All these channels and features are available for just $70, which is why it’s our favorite way to watch.

Can you watch Baltimore vs. Indianapolis for free?

If you are just looking for a streaming service to watch this specific game and nothing else, there are options available for you. DIRECTV, Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV all offer free trials, but they vary in length, so be wary. DIRECTV’s industry-leading trial runs for five days, while Hulu + Live TV’s is a solid three days.

Those are pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the sports-minded streamer Fubo, things can get a little complicated. As The Streamable’s expert David Satin discovered when signing up for the services, figuring out how long Fubo’s trial is — even as you are signing up — can be a bit difficult. Nonetheless, it will be at least one day, with the potential to be as many as seven, depending on a wide range of factors that Fubo does not share publicly.

The YouTube TV trial is said to be “up to two weeks,” but can be as short as two days. So it is difficult to ascertain what you are actually getting before you go through the signup process.

If you are looking to watch the game for free, I would recommend DIRECTV, because that streamer has the longest guaranteed free trial and gives you the best channel options. As mentioned above, Paramount+ also has a free trial, but that is not a live TV streaming service in the same way that the rest of the options are. It will only provide you live access to NFL games and UEFA Champions League soccer on the Essentials tier, and what is being broadcast on your CBS affiliate on the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME tier.

How to watch the Raiders vs. Seahawks locally

In Baltimore, the game is streaming on WBAL, which is available with a five-day free trial to DIRECTV. While in Indianapolis, the game is streaming on WXIN, which is available on Hulu + Live TV. The channels are also available on Fubo and YouTube TV.

What are all of the streamers you can use to watch the Baltimore vs. Indianapolis Week 1 Preseason game?

Fortunately for football fans, there are six different streaming services that will stream the game, so you have options to choose from if you don’t already subscribe to any of them. We discussed DIRECTV and the free trial options above, but there is one more, and it offers a different type of streaming arrangement.

If you are looking to find a long-term streaming service and want to avoid the potential of having to pay more if price hikes strike, then DIRECTV via Internet is your best bet. Packages start as low as $70 per month and come with a two-year price guarantee. This, of course, locks you into a two-year contract, but with prices increasing fairly regularly, it is understandable why this would be an attractive offer to many people.

Ultimately, there are tons of different ways to stream the game, and while we recommend DIRECTV as the best way to stream this game, you have plenty of options to find the platform that meets your needs.

Watch a preview of Baltimore vs. Indianapolis

How to watch Baltimore vs. Indianapolis from anywhere

If you’ll be away from home and can’t watch the game as you normally would, you can still catch all of the action no matter where you are in the world with a VPN. A VPN can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer and make you appear to be back home — even when you’re not — making sure you feel at home no matter where you are. A VPN is a safe and secure way to stay protected online while streaming your favorite sports, movies, and shows on the go. Keep in mind that you will still need to be subscribed to a live TV streaming like DIRECTV in order to stream the game with a VPN.

NordVPN is one of the best providers around, at one of the best prices. Currently, you can get two full years of protection for just $3.59 per month — plus you’ll get three extra months FREE. A high-speed VPN with best-in-class security that can be used on up to 10 devices at once — what more could you ask for? Simply sign up, install the software on your device of choice, and start streaming just as you would back home. It couldn’t be easier!

While NordVPN is our recommendation for the best VPN to use while you are traveling, there are a number of other high-quality options available depending on what you are looking for.

• Best Features: ExpressVPN | Starting at $5 per month
• Best Budget Option: Surfshark | Starting at $2.50 per month
• Best Free Option: Proton VPN | Free plan available