This season, NFL+ bulked up its service, and the investment is paying off. Antenna estimates NFL+ now has over 2 million subscribers. That’s up from a high of 1.7 million last season.
Last year, the service was mostly locked to your cell phone or tablet. While some fans would enjoy watching games on the go, the lack of a big-screen option was glaring. This season, the premium package includes NFL RedZone and NFL Network on TVs. That’s a combo that sent subscriptions soaring.
While it seems like NFL+ is the holy grail of football streaming services, it’s not exactly perfect. It wouldn’t let you watch Sunday night, Monday night, or Thursday night games on your TV. You need a solution that includes NBC, ESPN, and Prime Video to catch those games.
While the inclusion of RedZone makes NFL+ a great option, the price is on the high side at $15. With Hulu Live TV, RedZone is a $10 add-on. With Sling TV, Fubo, and YouTube TV, it’s just $11 more. Only DIRECTV STREAM has it for $15. In each case, you’re adding lots of sports channels, not just RedZone. That makes the NFL+ option expensive for what you get.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $94.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| NFL RedZone | + $15 | + $11 | + $10 | - | - | + $11 | + $11 | |
While other sports leagues are experimenting with direct-to-consumer streaming, we don’t yet have that perfect solution for the NFL. In the NBA, the Jazz, Clippers, Suns, Knicks, and Wizards have standalone streaming options. But the NFL’s enormous popularity means broadcasters are willing to empty the bank for the rights. One NFL Wild Card game will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN+, and we anticipate enormous backlash when that happens.
In some ways, it’s never been easier to be a sports fan. In other ways, it’s never been more confusing. NFL+ has clearly scratched the itch for 2 million fans, but it has a lot of work to do before it’s essential for every fan.
NFL+
NFL+ allows fans to watch live local and primetime games on mobile and tablet devices. And with an NFL+ Premium subscription, you can 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 Premium plan also includes NFL RedZone on TV.