NFL Network is now under new ownership, but customers of Comcast’s Xfinity TV are probably wishing it wasn’t. The channel is now blacked out for Xfinity TV subscribers thanks to a carriage dispute between Comcast and ESPN, which is now the official owner of NFL Network and its carriage rights.

The carriage agreement that allowed Comcast to continue offering NFL Network in its channel packages expired on Friday morning with no replacement deal in place. That leaves Xfinity TV customers no way to watch the channel with their subscription, and with the 2026 NFL Draft now concluded, there seems little reason for urgency on either side to resolve the dispute.

Comcast says that, just weeks after officially taking control of NFL Network, ESPN is asking for undue rate increases that would eventually be passed on to customers. Additionally, according to Comcast, these carriage demands would force customers who don’t watch NFL Network to pay for it anyway.

“Disney/ESPN acquired NFL Network and Red Zone just months ago and are already demanding double the fees for the same content,” a Comcast statement says. “Their distribution demands would also make millions more pay for a channel they don’t watch. We remain open to continuing to talk and reach a fair deal for our customers.”

An ESPN spokesperson countered that the network offered to allow Xfinity TV to keep broadcasting NFL Network during the blackout, but that offer was refused.

“We understand how disappointing and disruptive this is for football fans who have lost access to NFL Network and RedZone Channel as part of their Xfinity TV lineup,” their statement said. “We proposed keeping these channels available while we continued good-faith negotiations, but unfortunately Comcast declined and took them down. Despite this, we remain fully committed to reaching a fair agreement and restoring access to our best-in-class NFL programming as quickly as possible.”

Where to watch NFL Network now

If you’re an Xfinity TV customer who wants to restore access to NFL Network, you have several options available. The cheapest way to replace access to NFL Network while waiting for the blackout to resolve is to sign up for a subscription to NFL+, which allows viewers to watch NFL Network on its connected TV app starting at $7 per month.

If you’re ready to cancel your Xfinity TV plan because of the blackout, you can find NFL Network in one of several live TV streaming channel packages. DIRECTV carries the channel in all of its Signature packages, as well as the MySports Genre Pack. Fubo also has the channel in its Sports + News service, as well as its Core and Ultimate plans. Hulu + Live TV has NFL Network in its base package, and Sling TV carries it in its Blue and Select packages. YouTube TV offers the channel in its base plan, as well as its Sports Genre Plan.