Ready to Watch Football Live? What Games are Free?

Updated April 21, 2016: You can stream 2016 Thursday Night NFL games on Twitter

In April 2016, Twitter acquired the rights to stream Thursday Night Football games live on its platform. Whether you have a Twitter account or not, you’ll be able to watch the 2016 NFL Regular Season Thursday Night Football games live on your phone, tablet, PC, or connected TV via Twitter for free. Twitter users will also have access to pre-game Periscope broadcasts of players and teams. We’ll update this post with information on how to watch Thursday Night Football games live when it’s available.

***

The NFL football games played on Sunday, January 24, 2016 will decide which two teams will be heading to the Super Bowl. The Patriots will play the Broncos first starting at 3:05pm ET. Fans can watch the game online at CBSSports.com. It can also be viewed on mobile devices using the NFL Mobile App. Those with Roku, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, and Apple TV can check out the CBS Sports Channel on those devices.

At 6:40pm ET the Cardinals and Panthers will go head-to-head at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. The game will air on FOX and it can be viewed online at FoxSportsGo. Those with access to NFL.com’s Game Pass service can also stream the game live via NFL apps.

***

It’s a big football weekend, with four key games being played. Today, the Kansas City Chiefs are taking on the New England Patriots. Kickoff is at 4:35pm ET and you can watch the game online free (even if you don’t have a cable subsription) at CBSSports.com on tablets, computers, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, and Apple TV. At 8:15pm ET the Arizona Cardinals will be playing the Green Bay Packers and it can be viewed online at NBC Sports Live Extra as long as you have a subscription to cable or their app.

On Sunday, January 17, 2016 teams will go head-to-head again. The Seattle Seahawks will play the Carolina Panthers at 1:05pm ET and you can watch it online at Fox Sports Go with a cable subscription or on mobile devices if you subscribe tot he app. Later that afternoon, the Pittsburg Steelers will take on the Denver Broncos at 4:40pm ET. The game will be streamed live on CBSSports.com for free. Finally, Verizon Wireless customers can watch all the games on their iPhone or Android smartphones via the NFL app.

You don’t need a satellite dish on your roof to watch football live this season. You can stream NFL football games on your computer, phone, or tablet, using legal and officially-sanctioned NFL game webcasts. Some of these NFL webcasts are free, and some cost money; some deliver live games, while others provide unlimited repeat viewings after the games have been played. Some are available only to cable subscribers or customers of a specific wireless phone service provider. The list of sites and services broadcasting these games is long and complicated and some tricky blackout restrictions do apply. Let’s take a look at the coverage and audibilize on all the ways fans can watch football live online this season.

CAN YOU REALLY WATCH LIVE FOOTBALL FOR FREE?

NBC will be streaming all Sunday night NFL games on NBC Sports livestream. Some cable subscribers will be able to get free access to the Internet simulcast of ESPN Monday Night Football. While everyone can’t watch NFL live free online, those with cable service are getting a service that isn’t costing them anything additional.

Verizon customers can watch NFL live and free on their smartphones with a More Everything Plan otherwise it’s a $5 monthly subscription fee. Those who download the free NFL Mobile app and Watch NFL Network app will have access NFL games per weekend on their on their mobile device, but they’ll need to have a cable subscription. If you want to watch football games that have already concluded, NFL Game Rewind offers broadband video replays of each game – plus some dynamite new technical innovations designed with fantasy football enthusiasts in mind. International readers will be interested to know that live NFL games are available through NFL Game Pass to customers living outside the U.S. and Mexico.

WATCH FOOTBALL LIVE: SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY NIGHT GAMES NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football are both streamed live, and neither requires any additional purchase of an online package. NBC’s Sunday Night Football game is a free webcast available in high-definition (HD) with four different camera angles from which to choose. The “Football Night in America” pre-game highlight show is not part of this online broadcast, nor are the highlights during the halftime show.

When Monday night rolls around, viewers can watch Monday Night Football online at WatchESPN.com. The livestream is free for subscribers to a cable provider that is on the WatchESPN affiliate list. If you are an eligible cable subscriber, you’ll have to create and log into a special online account. Be aware that you cannot, however, watch Monday Night Football on a smartphone unless Verizon is your carrier. ESPN’s Internet broadcast of Monday Night Football is only available over computers and tablet devices .

NFL GAME PASS WITH ALL-22 COACHES FILM

For years, fantasy football enthusiasts have been clamoring for access to the secret NFL “All-22” game film. All-22 game film is shot from a sky-high camera angle through which all twenty-two players on the field can be seen, and their movements analyzed. Traditionally, only NFL coaches have had access to this game footage.  NFL Game Rewind has been replaced by Game Pass service.

The on-demand game archive service provides each regular season NFL game in its entirety, but you can’t watch football live with this service. This is strictly for post-game analysis. The service is available in three packages. The service can be watched on a ton of mobile devices including Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Apple TV.

WATCH NFL GAMES ON YOUR PHONE WITH NFL MOBILE

Why can’t you watch NFL Game Rewind or WatchESPN.com on your smartphone? Verizon is NFL’s official wireless service provider, so NFL games on smartphones are an exclusive benefit provided only to Verizon customers. The Verizon NFL Mobile package delivers every Sunday night, Monday night, and Thursday night game to any Verizon customer, plus the delightful Red Zone channel and a 24/7 stream of the NFL Network.

Do you think All-22 is the end-all, be-all of game film? Does your cable provider offer WatchESPN.com? Will you rack up countless hours to your Verizon data plan just to watch Thursday night battles between last-place teams? Drop back and air it out in the comments below.