How to Watch the NFL in 2026 Without Cable: Where Every Game Airs

Where every NFL game airs in 2026

Broadcast rights for the 2026-27 season are split across these partners. Kickoff times are Eastern; your local listing is the final word for your market.

• ✓Sunday afternoon (1:00 p.m. and 4:05/4:25 p.m. ET): CBS and FOX. These are regional games, so what you see depends on your local station. CBS says it has more than 100 regular-season games this season, and FOX staged its first NFL tripleheader in more than a decade on Sunday, November 15.
• ✓Sunday Night Football (8:20 p.m. ET): NBC, streamed on Peacock. NBC has 18 Sunday night games, including the Mexico City game on November 22, plus the Thanksgiving night game.
• ✓Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET): ESPN has 17 Monday games, and 10 of them are simulcast on ABC, so they also appear on your local ABC station.
• ✓Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET): Prime Video has 15 Thursday games, starting with Lions at Bills on September 17 at Buffalo's new Highmark Stadium and including Christmas Eve, plus the Black Friday game (Broncos at Steelers, November 27, 3 p.m. ET) and one Wild Card playoff game.
• ✓NFL Network: now owned by ESPN, it carries several early-morning international games and ESPN lists seven NFL Network games in its 2026 portfolio.
• ✓Netflix: five regular-season games (details in the next sections).
• ✓Holidays: Thanksgiving (November 26) is Bears at Lions on CBS at 1 p.m., Eagles at Cowboys on FOX at 4:30 p.m. and Chiefs at Bills on NBC at 8:20 p.m. Christmas Day (Friday, December 25) is Packers at Bears (1 p.m.) and Bills at Broncos (4:30 p.m.) on Netflix, then Rams at Seahawks on FOX at 8:15 p.m.
• ✓Late season: NBC has a Saturday, January 2 game at 4:30 p.m. ET followed by a Peacock-exclusive primetime game. Week 18 brings an ESPN Saturday doubleheader and a 1 p.m. ET Netflix game.
• ✓Playoffs and Super Bowl: CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN/ABC and Prime Video all have playoff games. Super Bowl LXI is on Sunday, February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium on ESPN and ABC, the first Super Bowl in ESPN's history.

Local vs out-of-market: why your CBS and FOX stations matter

The single most important idea in NFL viewing is the market. On a typical Sunday afternoon, CBS and FOX each air several games at once, and each local CBS and FOX station shows the game assigned to its area. Fans in Philadelphia see the Eagles on their local station; fans in Phoenix see a different game on the same network at the same time. Your local game is "in-market". Every other Sunday afternoon game is "out-of-market".

That has three practical consequences. First, if you only want your home team, a working local CBS and FOX feed covers most of their Sunday afternoon games, and NBC and ABC cover a share of the primetime ones. Second, NFL Sunday Ticket exists to sell you the out-of-market games: YouTube describes it as the out-of-market Sunday games not available on your local broadcast, so it deliberately excludes the games your local station already carries, along with digital-only games. Third, if you moved away from your team, your local station will usually show a different team, which is exactly why displaced fans buy Sunday Ticket.

The streaming exclusives have a local wrinkle too. The league requires streamed games to be available on over-the-air television in the two teams' home markets. For the 2026 Christmas Day games, for example, Netflix's guidance says fans in the Green Bay and Chicago markets can watch Packers at Bears on a local station, and fans in the Buffalo and Denver markets can do the same for Bills at Broncos. Everywhere else, the streaming service is the only official way to watch.

This is why we built our US local channels directory: the local ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates by state are the backbone of an NFL setup, and a national feed of the same network does not show you the same game.

The streaming-only games in 2026

Five partners stream NFL games this season, but only three hold games you cannot see on a broadcast network outside the teams' home markets.

Prime Video (Thursday Night Football). Thursday Night Football is included with an Amazon Prime membership, which costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year. Outside the two teams' markets, Prime Video is the only official way to watch these games live on TV; NFL+ also streams them on phones and tablets.

Netflix (five games). Netflix's 2026 package is its largest yet: the Week 1 game from Melbourne (49ers vs. Rams, September 10, the first NFL regular-season game in Australia), the first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game (Packers at Rams, November 25, 8:35 p.m. ET), both early Christmas Day games, and a 1 p.m. ET Saturday game in Week 18 (January 9, 2027). The games are included in all Netflix plans, which start at $8.99 a month with ads.

Peacock (one exclusive). NBC's Sunday Night Football is also on Peacock, and this season Peacock has one exclusive game: the primetime game on Saturday, January 2, 2027. Peacock raised its prices on August 18, 2026; Premium is now $12.99 a month.

YouTube has no regular-season game of its own in 2026. The Week 1 international game it carried in 2025 moved to Netflix for 2026, so YouTube's only NFL product this season is Sunday Ticket.

ESPN Unlimited and Paramount+ also stream NFL games, but these are the same games airing on ESPN, ABC and CBS, so they are convenience options rather than exclusives.

NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL RedZone and NFL+ in 2026

These three league products are easy to confuse. They solve different problems, and none of them alone covers every game.

NFL Sunday Ticket (out-of-market Sunday afternoon games). YouTube holds the rights and sells it two ways: as an add-on to YouTube TV, or on its own through YouTube Primetime Channels. For the 2026 season new subscribers pay $240 (or $30 a month for 8 months) either way. Returning subscribers pay $378 as a YouTube TV add-on (on top of the YouTube TV subscription) or $480 standalone through Primetime Channels. A student plan exists; check YouTube's offers page for the current price. DirecTV no longer sells Sunday Ticket to homes. Sunday Ticket does not include your local games, Thursday, Sunday night or Monday games, or the Netflix and Peacock exclusives.

NFL RedZone (whip-around Sunday afternoon coverage). RedZone jumps between every Sunday afternoon game to show touchdowns and key plays, for about seven straight hours. ESPN bought the channel's pay-TV distribution rights when it acquired NFL Network in early 2026, while the league kept producing RedZone and selling it digitally. In practice you get it through NFL+ Premium, through a TV add-on such as YouTube TV's NFL RedZone with Sports Plus ($10.99 a month), or bundled with Sunday Ticket. ESPN also sells an ESPN Unlimited + NFL+ Premium bundle from $41.99 a month that includes RedZone.

NFL+ (the league's own app). The standard tier is $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year and includes live local and primetime games, but only on phones and tablets, plus NFL Network and live game audio. NFL+ Premium is $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year and adds NFL RedZone, full and condensed game replays and All-22 coaches film. NFL+ is good value for a commuter or a second screen, but it will not put your local game on a living-room TV.

NFL Network. Since ESPN took over NFL Network, it is included in ESPN Unlimited ($31.99 a month) at no extra charge, alongside ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN on ABC.

What the legal options cost in October 2026

These are the published US prices as of early October 2026. Promotional pricing for new customers changes often, so check each service before you sign up.

• ✓Over-the-air antenna: a one-time hardware cost and no subscription. Gets your local CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC where reception allows, which covers in-market Sunday afternoon games, Sunday night and the ABC Monday simulcasts.
• ✓YouTube TV: Base Plan $82.99/month (new members $59.99/month for 2 months). The Sports + News Plan is $71.99/month ($49.99/month for 5 months for new members).
• ✓NFL Sunday Ticket: $240/season for new subscribers; $378 returning on YouTube TV; $480 returning standalone via YouTube Primetime Channels.
• ✓NFL RedZone: $10.99/month via YouTube TV's Sports Plus add-on, or inside NFL+ Premium.
• ✓NFL+: $6.99/month or $49.99/year. NFL+ Premium: $14.99/month or $99.99/year.
• ✓ESPN Unlimited (ESPN networks, ABC, NFL Network): $31.99/month.
• ✓Amazon Prime (Thursday Night Football): $14.99/month or $139/year.
• ✓Peacock Premium (Sunday Night Football, the January 2 exclusive): $12.99/month or $129.99/year.
• ✓Paramount+ (NFL on CBS): Essential $8.99/month; Premium $13.99/month adds your full live local CBS station.
• ✓FOX One (FOX network and FOX Sports): $19.99/month.
• ✓Netflix (five games): from $8.99/month with ads.
• ✓Hulu + Live TV (includes ESPN Unlimited, NFL Network and local networks in many areas): $99.99/month with ads, $109.99/month without.
• ✓Sling TV: Orange or Blue $45.99/month, Orange & Blue $60.99/month; local ABC, FOX and NBC only in select markets.

What it adds up to if you want every game

A fan who wants every game legally, at standard prices for a returning customer, needs roughly this stack for the five months from September to January: YouTube TV Base Plan (about $415), Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV ($378), Prime ($75), Netflix with ads ($45) and one month of Peacock Premium ($13). That is about $925 for the regular season, before RedZone or any regional sports fees. A first-year Sunday Ticket subscriber saves $138 of that, and a fan who only follows a local team can get by with an antenna, Prime and the occasional Netflix month.

The point is not that the official route is wrong. It is the only route with guaranteed rights for every game, and if you need certainty for a specific game, it is the safe choice. The point is that most households are paying for overlapping bundles to reach a handful of windows, which is why so many fans look for a single subscription that covers the networks they actually watch.

Where StreamVega fits: what our catalog carries for NFL fans

Every StreamVega login lives on one server, and each server has its own channel line-up. The figures below come from each server's live channel index, checked on October 7, 2026. They are channel entries on that server, not totals across servers, and line-ups change with rights, so treat them as a snapshot and confirm the exact channels you need during the free 24-hour trial.

Server T ("international & all-round", our largest at 55,000+ live channels) is the natural fit for NFL viewing. It has a dedicated "US| NFL PACKAGE" group containing NFL Network, NFL RedZone, live-event slots and replays, plus 88 regional NFL Network feeds. It also carries local affiliates for markets across the US: about 179 CBS, 180 FOX, 200 NBC and 169 ABC entries, plus CW and MyNetwork stations.

Server G ("4K movies & series") has the most local affiliate entries of any of our servers: about 189 CBS, 188 FOX, 214 NBC and 198 ABC. It also carries NFL RedZone.

Server D ("balanced entertainment") carries about 168 CBS, 172 FOX, 196 NBC and 165 ABC entries, plus NFL RedZone.

Server K ("US & UK sports, low latency") carries NFL RedZone, ESPN and a wide sports line-up, but it does not carry local ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX affiliates. If your priority is your local Sunday afternoon game, choose T, G or D instead.

For the national windows: ESPN and ESPN2 are on all four servers and ESPNU is on T, G and D, which covers Monday Night Football; the ABC simulcasts and the NBC Sunday night game come through the local affiliates on T, G and D. Peacock and Prime Video event and originals channels exist on Servers T and G, with fewer on K and D. Whether a particular Thursday, Peacock-exclusive or Netflix game appears depends on rights at the time, so we do not promise any specific game.

Plans start at $10 a month (one connection or user) or $85 a year per server, with 3-, 6- and 12-month terms, up to five connections or users, and multi-server plans if you want, for example, Server T for football and another server for other viewing. You can cancel anytime. Compare terms on the plans page and server strengths on the servers page.

Getting it on your TV before Sunday

This is the short version. Our device guides cover each step in detail.

1. 1Start a free 24-hour trial. No credit card is needed. If football is your priority, ask for Server T, or Server G or D if you mainly want the most local stations.
2. 2Install a player app on your TV device. TiviMate is a popular choice on Fire TV and Android TV (TiviMate guide). Setup guides: Amazon Firestick, Apple TV and Samsung and LG smart TVs.
3. 3Add your login (an M3U URL or Xtream Codes details) to the player and let the channel list and guide load.
4. 4Check your market first: search the channel list for your local CBS and FOX affiliates by city or call sign, and use the US local channels directory to see which states we list.
5. 5Find the NFL group on Server T ("US| NFL PACKAGE") and confirm NFL Network and RedZone open, then check ESPN and your local NBC and ABC for the primetime games.
6. 6If you can, run the trial during a live game window, such as a Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, so you test the exact streams you will use. If something does not play, see IPTV not working or check our server status page.

A game-week checklist

• ✓Know your market. Your local CBS and FOX stations decide your Sunday afternoon games; an out-of-town affiliate shows a different game.
• ✓Check the network for each window: Thursday (Prime), Sunday afternoon (CBS/FOX), Sunday night (NBC), Monday (ESPN, often ABC).
• ✓Mark the streaming exclusives in your calendar now: Netflix on November 25, December 25 and January 9, and Peacock on January 2.
• ✓If you keep an official service for a single must-see game, that is reasonable. No IPTV service can guarantee any specific game, StreamVega included.
• ✓Use the trial to confirm your exact channels on one server before you pay, and pick a plan term that covers the rest of the season and the playoffs.