Ultimate Guide to Watching the 2023 NFL Season Online - Sunday Ticket, RedZone, Pricing, and More

The 2023 NFL season is upon us and this season brings a ton of changes for football fans. Although it can get complicated, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to watch every play of your favorite team.

If you want to watch the big games this season, you’ll need a minimum of four services. We know, it’s a lot. Here’s the short version of what you need and why.

Too complicated? Don’t want to read on? Just make these four clicks and you’ll get all local and national games:

Live TV Streaming Options

To see the games broadcast on broadcast or cable TV, you’ll need a streaming option that offers ABC, CBS, ESPN, Fox, NBC, and NFL Network. We’ll also discuss the popular NFL RedZone and NFL Sunday Ticket options.

If you want maximum channels, DIRECTV STREAM is your best bet. If you want to save money, Sling TV should be your pick. Our service matchmaker can guide you to the right choice.

Here are your live TV streaming contenders for the 2023 NFL season:

CBS

CBS carries AFC home games. While the simplest option is to get a live TV streamer, there’s another nifty option if you only care about your local broadcast: just get Paramount+. That streaming service includes all local NFL broadcasts if you live near an AFC team. The price is right and you can sample it with a generous free trial. If you really want to save money, use the code SPORTS to get 50% an entire year’s subscription.

NBC

As usual, NBC carries Sunday Night Football. NBC is also home to the 2023 kickoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions on Thursday, September 7.

Every NBC game is also available on Peacock, so if you only care about Sunday Night Football, that’s your cheapest option.

ABC

The former home of Monday Night Football is getting back in the action this year. ABC will be home to four exclusive games:

• Week 2: Browns vs. Steelers
• Week 3: Eagles vs. Buccaneers
• Week 14: Packers vs. Giants
• Week 16: Chiefs vs. Patriots

ABC will also simulcast the ESPN game in Week 1, 11, and 17.

There is no direct-to-consumer streaming option for ABC, so you’ll need some kind of live TV provider.

FOX

FOX hosts your local NFC teams and also allows you to watch in 4K. While streamers like Fubo offer the 4K feed, you can use any TV provider and sign in with the Fox Sports App to see the 4K feed without an additional fee.

Although Fox owns Tubi, the company has no plans to stream the games there. You’ll need a live TV streamer like DIRECTV STREAM to watch these games.

ESPN

The Worldwide Leader in Sports is still home to Monday Night Football. You’ll see every MNF game on ESPN except for the four ABC games listed above. (Yes, that means no MNF on ESPN in Week 16.)

Your cheapest option to see ESPN is Sling TV. You can get 50% off your first month to give it a whirl.

NFL Network

If you want to watch the league’s international games, you’ll need NFL Network. The channel is also home to one of the Thanksgiving tripleheader games and a Christmas Eve game. Here’s the schedule:

• Week 5: Jaguars vs. Bills (UK)
• Week 6: Ravens vs. Titans (UK)
• Week 9: Dolphins vs. Chiefs (Germany)
• Week 10: Colts vs. Patriots (Germany)
• Week 15: TBD
• Week 16: Patriots vs. Broncos

Every major live TV streaming service carries NFL Network. You can also watch NFL Network on your TV with NFL+ (starting at $6.99 / month).

NFL RedZone

Our favorite way to watch football on Sundays is to kick back with the brilliant NFL RedZone channel. Host Scott Hanson guides you around the league from game to game so you catch the best action from every battle. There are never any commercials, and you get to see every touchdown from every game. It’s seven straight hours of wall-to-wall football action, and it’s heaven if you play fantasy football. It’s especially fun when several games come down to the wire.

The add-on is available for every major live TV streamer, and we assure you, it’s worth the extra cash. If you’re looking to save money, Sling TV is our choice. You can get RedZone and the Monday and Sunday night games for the lowest overall price, though ABC is only available on Sling in eight markets and NBC is only in 11 areas.

If you only care about RedZone and no other games, you can watch on your TV with a subscription to NFL+ for $14.99 / month. Just remember, RedZone doesn’t air during international games, Monday, Thursday, or Sunday night games.

NFL Sunday Ticket

This year, NFL Sunday Ticket is exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV. If you’re willing to pay for the service, you’ll be able to see every Sunday afternoon out-of-market game in the league. It’s very expensive, but it’s your only legal lifeline if your beloved team plays in a different market.

We prefer NFL RedZone for keeping an eye on your favorite team without having to sit through time outs and injuries and replays, but if you must see every play of your team, Sunday Ticket may be necessary.

If you really want Sunday Ticket, be aware that DIRECTV STREAM will give you a $400 gift card to pay for the package as long as you sign up for a 2-year subscription with them.

How to Get $400 Visa Gift Card from DIRECTV

• Click here to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket. Make sure you choose a plan that does not include YouTube TV.
• Save your proof of purchase.
• Click here to choose from standard DIRECTV plans.
• Sign up for a two-year contract with DIRECTV, then submit your proof of NFL Sunday Ticket purchase within three billing cycles to get a $400 Visa gift card.

Streaming Exclusive NFL Games

Prime Video

Prime Video is back for Year 2 with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit. You must have this service if you want to watch Thursday Night Football or the league’s first-ever Black Friday game.

• Week 2 - Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
• Week 3 - New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
• Week 4 - Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
• Week 5 - Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders
• Week 6 - Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
• Week 7 - Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints
• Week 8 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills
• Week 9 - Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 10 - Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
• Week 11 - Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
• Week 12 (Black Friday) - Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
• Week 13 - Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys
• Week 14 - New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
• Week 15 - Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
• Week 16 - New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams
• Week 17 - New York Jets at Cleveland Browns

If you live in one of these teams’ markets, you will be able to see the game on a local network.

ESPN+

The streaming version of ESPN will be the only way to watch the Week 4 Falcons vs. Jaguars game. If you have ESPN+, you’ll also have access to the simulcast of the Monday Night Football games in Week 1 and Week 11.

Remember that if you choose Hulu Live TV as your live TV provider, you’ll get ESPN+ and Disney+ for free.

Peacock

If you have Peacock, you get all the NBC Sunday Night Football games. It is the only way to see the possibly playoff-important Bills vs. Chargers game in Week 16.

Important: Peacock will be the only way to watch one playoff game during Wild Card Weekend.

Alternative Broadcasts: Manningcast & More

Many fans enjoy the brotherly hijinks of Peyton and Eli Manning and their various celebrity guests on the Manningcast on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The brothers will be back for 10 more games this year on the same platforms. Sling TV is your least expensive way to watch. Here are the games involved:

Prime Video also offered some alternative audio broadcasts for fans during its Thursday Night Football games. We assume that will continue.

Nickelodeon will also offer its popular Slimecast for kids this year. Viewers can watch the Christmas Day Raiders-Chiefs game with the goofy graphics, as well as the Super Bowl on February 11. The Slimecast will also be available on Paramount+.

What’s the Cheapest Option to Stream the Most Football?

If you’re on a budget, you can save by letting some football slip through the cracks. If you don’t need to see every single game, we’d recommend going with Sling TV and Paramount+. That’s a total of $61/month.

The Sling Blue + Orange package is $55 and includes ABC, NBC, ESPN, FOX, and NFL Network. Paramount+ adds all the CBS NFL games at the lowest tier ($6) - get started with a 30-day free trial. That package saves money and gives you a ton of football. Use the code SPORTS to get 50% off an annual plan of Paramount+.

If you want NFL RedZone, Sling TV offers the Sports Extra add-on for just $11 if you have Sling Blue or $15 if you have Orange+Blue.

As a bonus, your first month of Sling TV is 50% off. If you’re willing to sign up for a 5-month subscription, you can save 22% on the best deal in streaming.

How to Get Sling’s Season Pass and Save Big on Football Season

• Click here to get the deal.
• Enter the email and password you want to sign up with.
• Confirm which services you want.
• Enter your payment information and finish singing up.

One alert: Sling TV’s availability for FOX, NBC, and ABC is limited in some markets.

If you want Thursday Night Football, you have to get Prime Video, but with a generous 30-day free trial, you could wait to use that until you see a four-week stretch of games you like.

Can You Watch NFL Games for Free?

If you take advantage of free trials to these services, you can watch football for free. DIRECTV STREAM offers a free trial and all the channels you need. Prime Video offers a free trial for Thursday Night Football. Once the trials are up, you will have to pay, however.

There are no free trials for Peacock or ESPN+.

What About an Antenna for NFL?

An antenna can typically get you four games per week: either CBS or FOX will offer two games while the other offers one, and you can stream Sunday Night Football. As you see above, Monday Night Football coverage would be limited to the ABC games, and you wouldn’t see anything on Thursday nights unless your local team was playing that week. You’d also lose out on the streaming exclusives from ESPN+ and Peacock, along with the NFL Network games.

If you do want to try the antenna option, we recommend these models:

Should You Watch on NFL+?

NFL+ is a great option for some fans, but only if you have very specific needs. You’ll get your live local and primetime games on your phone or tablet, but not on your TV.

With the standard subscription, you can watch NFL Network on your TV. With the premium subscription, you can also watch NFL RedZone on TV.

With an NFL+ Premium subscription, you can also watch replays of every single game without ads, condensed game replays, and coaches film. The service also allows fans to choose their audio stream (home, away, and national calls).

The service also allows users to watch out-of-market preseason games on any device. Users can also access NFL library programming ad-free.

If you love football, NFL+ probably isn’t your best bet, however. You can’t use it to watch games on Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night, so that’s a deal-breaker for us.

What Channel Has the Super Bowl This Year?

Super Bowl LVIII will be on CBS. You will be able to watch the game on Paramount+.

How Can I Tell What Channel or Service My Favorite Team is On?

Bookmark your favorite team's page on TheStreamable.com. In the event of flex scheduling or any other change, we will always have the most updated information on when and where to watch.