What’s the Cheapest Way to Watch the NFL Playoffs in 2024?
We’ll give you all your best options for watching the NFL playoffs at the lowest possible cost this season.
The onset of January means just one thing to NFL fans: playoff time! The grueling NFL regular season has led to this moment, and now audiences can look forward to some of the best matchups of the year like a rematch of the Miami Dolphins at the Kansas City Chiefs.
There are many ways to watch the 2024 NFL playoffs since games will be offered via ABC and ESPN, CBS, Fox, NBC, and Peacock. But which is the best way to watch the NFL playoffs without spending a lot of money? Is there a way to see every game just with cheaper subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix?
The Streamable is now in its eighth year of covering the best ways to stream top sporting events like the NFL playoffs, and we’re here to walk you through the cheapest ways to watch the maximum amount of NFL playoff games for the 2023-24 season. Keep in mind, as taxes levied on streaming vary by area, the prices listed below won’t include tax.
Cheapest SVOD Option
One thing to keep in mind when browsing the best SVOD platforms for watching the NFL playoffs is that not every channel hosting playoff games has an associated streaming service. In other words, the SVOD-only route won’t get you every NFL playoff game, specifically none of the games appearing on Fox.
You will be able to stream quite a few of the games played this NFL postseason on SVOD services, however. Start with a subscription to Paramount+; this streamer is offering a one-month free trial using promo code CHALLENGE39, and it carries all NFL playoff games appearing on CBS live on both the Essential tier and the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan. It’s hard to get cheaper than free, and signing up for that trial now will grant you access to Paramount+ until after the end of Super Bowl LVIII, which is on…you guessed it! CBS and Paramount+.
Supplement your free trial of Paramount+ with Peacock Premium for $5.99 per month. No free trial here, but you’ll get all playoff games appearing on NBC and Peacock this postseason, including the Peacock-exclusive Wild Card game between the Dolphins and Chiefs on Saturday, Jan. 13.
ESPN+ is only slated to carry one NFL playoff game as of now: the Monday, Jan. 15 tilt between the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But that game will be accompanied by Peyton and Eli Manning’s “ManningCast” alternative broadcast, making it well worth a $10.99-per-month charge.
Cost of Paramount+ (free trial), Peacock, ESPN+ bundle: $16.98 through the end of the playoffs.
Cheapest Live TV Streaming Option
A live TV streaming service is much more expensive than SVOD services, but it’s a great way to ensure you can watch every single NFL playoff game outside the Peacock-exclusive game between the Chiefs and Dolphins.
Currently, the cheapest way to watch all playoff games appearing on ABC and ESPN, CBS, Fox, and NBC is DIRECTV STREAM. This service normally starts at $79.99 per month for its Entertainment plan — which carries all the channels listed above — but a limited-time offer of $25 off per month for your first two months of service will lower that price to $54.99 for the length of the NFL playoffs.
You also get a five-day free trial of DIRECTV STREAM before you’re charged, so subscribing now will mean you get to watch Wild Card Weekend on the service at no cost.
Cost of DIRECTV STREAM Entertainment Plan After Free Trial: $54.99 through the end of the playoffs
Cheapest Option for Select Big City Residents
What do the cities of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have in common, besides being some of the top media markets in the United States?
They are the five markets in which Sling TV offers ABC, Fox, and NBC in its Blue plan. Customers in those areas have to pay $45 per month instead of the standard $40, but Sling is also offering its promotion of 50% off for the first month of service for new customers.
That drops the price of one month of Sling to $22.50, but what about games on CBS? Sling doesn’t carry that channel in any market, but you can use the above-mentioned free trial for Paramount+ to get the balance of the 2024 NFL playoffs.
Cost of Sling TV/Paramount+ (free trial) bundle: $22.50 through the end of the playoffs.
Cheapest Old-School Option
If you’re looking to turn back the clock a bit to watch this year’s NFL playoffs, you should think about grabbing an over-the-air (OTA) antenna. Since the ESPN Wild Card game on Monday, Jan. 15 will also be on ABC, buying an antenna will give you access to every NFL playoff game in 2024 except for Chiefs-Dolphins on Peacock.
For an extra $5.99 you can watch that game on Peacock, then cancel the service if you wish to save money. There are multiple levels of antennae available depending on how wide a range you want to pick up signals from, and they start at as little as $11.99. The best thing about antennas is they give you all your local channels —including ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC — and the only fee you’ll pay is the one-time charge to buy the antenna itself.
Cost of OTA antenna with Peacock: $17.98 and up, depending on antenna choice.