How to Watch Football without Cable
Football has always been the center of attention amongst global sports, and every fan craves to watch their favorite games live in HD quality. Watching football through cable is becoming a thing of the past. Alongside average streaming quality, cable TV is not ideal for football fans who are always on the go.
That's where football streaming apps jump in. They offer live HD football streaming covering all the major leagues and shows, including NFL 2023-24 games, Monday night football, Sunday night football, and NFC afternoon games. This article explains how to watch football without cable through the top football streaming apps. So, let's jump in.
1. Can You Watch Football without Cable for Free?
Yes, you can easily watch sports without cable for free. Football has garnered a huge following over the years, all wanting to experience the feeling of a stadium on their screens. Cable TV has been the go-to option over the past decade, but is slowly dwindling into the past because it is not suitable for people on the go.
In contrast, football streaming apps let you enjoy every kick and goal of the game wherever you want. Moreover, cable TV is costly and limited when compared to streaming apps. Streaming apps offer DVR functionality to record games and even let you watch highlights and on-demand shows.
Furthermore, each streaming app has different pricing options, ensuring every football fan gets the best bang for their buck. The top football streaming apps we'll discuss below are cost-friendly, provide premium streaming, and are compatible with multiple devices. This makes streaming apps a plug-and-play option.
2. How to Watch Football without Cable - Streaming Services
Watching football without cable is a breeze with streaming apps. You just need to open the app, subscribe to it, and finally use it to watch hot live football shows. Note that some of these apps are geo-restricted, so you might need a VPN to access them in your region. With that said, let's look at the first football streaming app on our list.
1NFL+
The National Football League (NFL+) offers live local and Primetime regular season and post-season games. This means you can enjoy premium-quality streaming even if you've missed a match.
Moreover, the NFL+ features an ad-free library to browse your favorite football matches without interruptions. Although it doesn't provide out-of-market games, you can watch Thursday night football games, NFL network games, Monday night football on ESPN, and even Sunday night football on NBC. Note that all these shows are available for the NFL+ mobile app.
Additionally, NFL+ offers live game audio for each football season, making football streaming more immersive. You can watch NFL+ on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Smart TVs, and streaming devices like Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.
With these features under the hood, NFL+ only costs $6.99 - $14.99/ month. To subscribe to it.
- Click here to go to the NFL+ official website.
- Enter your sign-in details and subscribe to the plan of your choice. If you would like to watch NFL games for free, click "Start 7-Day Free Trial" from the home page.
- Choose the game or season you want to watch and enjoy premium streaming. You can also select the preferred year and week to browse what you like to watch.
2ESPN+
If you want to watch live sports without cable for free, ESPN+ is the best streaming app. Alongside showing streams for different sports, it features a range of college sports, including football, basketball, and baseball. It also streams top football leagues, including La Liga and Premier League.
You can also enjoy multiple devices simultaneously to enjoy NFL 2023-2024 games with friends and family. Moreover, it houses a simple interface that is easy to navigate. With ESPN+, you can also watch original programming covering magazine series, documentaries, and interview shows. ESPN+ also allows you to watch live and on-demand replays of UFC Pay-Per-Views.
With all these services, ESPN+ is much cheaper than cable TV. It charges only $9.99/month, and if you want to save a whopping 15%, you can subscribe to an annual plan, which costs around $99.99/ year. You can watch ESPN+ on almost all devices, including Mac, Windows, Android and iOS.
- To avail all these exciting football streams, go to the ESPN official site here.
- Click the profile icon to log in your account.
- Subscribe to it according to the given plans.
- Browse the content and choose your favorite to watch.
3Sling TV
Sling TV is among the most affordable football streaming apps. It offers two packages, including Sling Orange and Sling Blue. Each package offers different football streams. Sling Blue covers NFL Network, NBC, FOX, and ABC games, while Orange supports ESPN. This means you can watch Monday night football games with Sling TV. Talking about football channels, Sling TV supports TNT, NFL, PAC12, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, SEC, Big 10 Network, and even NFL RedZome.
Sling TV also has a cloud DVD that allows you to record and watch live football whenever you want.
This streaming app is compatible with all devices, including Mobile, PCs, and streaming devices. Sling TV Orange costs around $20/month, while the Blue package requires $22.50/ month.
- Subscribe to Sling TV from here.
- Select extra add-ons if you want, and complete your purchase.
4Fubo TV
Fubo TV has sports ingrained in its DNA, especially when it comes to football. This streaming app supports all major NFL channels, including Fox Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN, and NBC Sports. Having an intuitive interface, Fubo TV has all the categories on the homepage. You can easily navigate to your favorite football match.
Like Sling TV, Fubu TV also supports cloud DVR. You can record your favorite football games and watch them later. With 1000 hours of storage, you can pile up enough stock to watch when traveling.
Compatibility is not an issue as it works on mobile, Windows, iOS, and Mac devices! Fubu offers a seven-day free trial and its yearly plan costs between $74.99 - $94.99.
- To subscribe to Fubu TV, click here.
- Pick your favorite plan and log in with your credentials. You can also click "Start Free Trial" to enjoy the content for free, then pay to subscribe.
- Choose your favorite football channel in the app and start streaming.
5DirecTV
DirecTV offers a massive range of regional sports networks, allowing you to watch all your local and regional football games. It has a decent and easy-to-use interface. Plus, it supports unlimited cloud DVR, so you can record your football games.
DirecTV works with all big football channels like Fox Sports 1, ESPN, and NBC Sports Network. Moreover, the app allows you to set up alerts for upcoming games so you never miss a second of your favorite football match.
The starting price of DirecTV is $64.99 per month, and it also works on all devices, including Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and streaming devices like Amazon FireStick, Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast.
To use DirecTV, you'll have to subscribe to it. Here is how to do it:
- Click here to go to its official site.
- Choose the plan that best suits your interests.
- Make the payment and then log into the app.
- Use the search bar and drive through different categories to find your favorite football game.
6YouTube TV
If you want to stream NFL games without cable on a much more familiar platform, try YouTube TV. YouTube TV supports multiple football channels like CBS, ESPN, and Fox Sports, allowing you to watch all your favorite football matches live in HD quality.
It has unlimited cloud DVR support to record your favorite football matches. Moreover, you can stream up to 5 channels on one screen. YouTube TV also provides an add-on package called NFL Sunday Ticket, giving you early access to all NFL live games.
YouTube TV starts at $72.99/month for 1 member supporting up to 6 household accounts. And it is available on all Windows, Android, and iOS devices, alongside streaming devices.
- To subscribe to it, click the YouTube TV official website here.
- Buy the plan and begin watching premium football entertainment.
7Paramount+
Paramount+ offers HD live streaming of NFL games on CBS. Moreover, it also lets you stream the UEFA Europa League, NWSL, and UEFA Champions League. With its growing library of on-demand shows, Paramount+ helps you keep up with the latest football matches.
Furthermore, Paramount+ lets you pause and rewind live streams so you never miss a moment from the match. It also offers highlights of NFL games and other events so you can relive the hottest football matches again.
Although it doesn't offer Monday night football or Sunday Night football, it's a great app to stream local football content, and it's much more affordable. Starting at just $5.99/month, this is one of the most budget-friendly football streaming apps on the market.
- Click here to subscribe to Paramount+ and choose your preferred plan.
- Enter payment details, and once you're subscribed, open the app to enjoy live AFC home games.
8Peacock Premium
If you're still searching for “how can I watch football without cable?” then try Peacock Premium. It offers a huge variety of content, including top-quality live shows, documentaries, and original programming. Peacock Premium is among the few streaming apps offering live Premier League matches and Sunday Night football.
The Peacock Premium app is available on Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and streaming devices, including Roku, Amazon FireStick, and Apple TV. The Peacock Premium subscription starts as low as $5.99/ month. Here is how to subscribe to it.
- Go to Peacock Premium's official site from here.
- Subscribe to it and log in to the app with the right credentials.
- Now enjoy quality football streaming content.
9Amazon Prime Video
Last but not the least, Amazon Prime Video provides top-notch football streaming services. It's the only streaming app in the US offering an exclusive home of Thursday Football. With 4K resolution and HDR support, Amazon Prime Video makes sure you get an immersive football game viewing experience.
On top of that, Amazon Prime Video boasts different angles to view players in a football game. Moreover, you can subscribe to other streaming apps like NFL+ RedZone or Paramount+ without leaving the Prime app. This makes it a one-stop store for all kinds of football entertainment. It is available on Mac, Windows, Android, iOS and streaming devices.
- Its subscription starts from just $5.99/month, and you can subscribe it from here.
- Once done with the subscription, install the app on your device.
- Enjoy non-stop football entertainment.
3. How to Watch Football without Cable - OTA Antenna
Over-the-air or OTA antennas are devices that stream local channels on your TV. Unlike cable TV, where you connect your TV with a client cable network to tune in channels, OTA antennas work wirelessly and tune in channels on your TV through digital signals.
Using OTA is simpler than using a cable network. All you need is an OTA device and a TV. Now, simply join the TV and antenna via a coaxial cable and place it in the center of your home. Now run a channel scan on your TV, and you should be able to see your local sports channels.
Watching football through an OTA antenna is cost-friendly, the setup is easy to install, and it can be used with a DVR to record shows. On the other hand, OTA antennas can sometimes cause low picture quality and laggy displays if they get sloppy signals from the tower.
4. How to Watch Live Sports without Cable - Streaming Devices
Another way to get sports channels without cable is through streaming devices. Streaming devices are USB devices that allow your TV to run streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, NFL, and Disney Plus. These streaming devices let you download multiple sports streaming apps and offer an HD viewing experience.
Additionally, these devices come with their own remote, which you can use to control your Smart TV. Here are some of the most common streaming devices:
- Amazon FireStick
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- Roku
Setting up a streaming device is easy when you have the right prerequisites. You need a properly working streaming device, a TV with an HDMI port and an active subscription to the streaming apps you want to watch.
You just need to insert the streaming device into the HDMI port of your TV and then follow the on-screen instructions to set it up. Once it's set, go to the local browser of the streaming device, search for your favorite sports streaming app, and install it.
5. Bonus: Screen Mirror Mobile Screen to TV with AirDroid Cast
You're missing a lot if you're watching videos on mobile. Unlike TV, mobile phone screens don't offer an immersive experience, which reduces the fun of viewing content in 4K. But if you don't have streaming devices, then you simply won't be able to stream football on your TV.
This is where AirDroid Cast comes in. It's a screen-casting platform that casts your screen to another screen. AirDroid Cast offers zero latency while screen mirroring. Moreover, you can link up to 5 devices at a time. We will use AirDroid Cast to screen mirror mobile screen to TV.
6. Summary
While NFL games are around the corner, fans seek a reliable streaming app to quench their football game streaming thirst. We've reviewed the top football streaming apps that offer unmatched football viewing experience.
Choose the app that best matches your interest. Some offer exclusive Thursday Night Football, while others give access to NFL RedZone. Additionally, these apps are budget-friendly compared to Cable TV.
Furthermore, if you want to mirror your mobile screen to TV to enjoy a cinematic football experience, try AirDroid Cast. It offers lightning quick and buttery smooth screen mirroring.
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