Watch local TV without cable

Thanks in part to new streaming options for cord-cutters, it’s possible to watch all your local NFL games without cable, along with all nationally televised games on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday nights. With the NFL season just a week away, now’s a good time to run through all the ways* that cord cutters can watch or stream NFL games, so you’ll be ready for kickoff:

Over-the-air antenna

As it was last season, the best way to watch NFL games for free is with an over-the-air TV antenna. Cheap indoor antennas sell for as little as $15, while more expensive flat designs from Mohu and Winegard can mount on a wall or to a window. All the major networks typically broadcast in high definition, so with a strong enough signal, the quality should be comparable to the set-top box you’d rent from a service provider (or perhaps even better, since the broadcast signal isn’t as compressed).

Mohu

An indoor antenna like the Mohu ReLeaf could be all you need to watch in-market NFL games for free.

All you need besides the antenna is a coaxial input on your television; and with additional hardware, you can even add DVR capabilities to your antenna, or stream the video to other devices around the house over Wi-Fi. If your TV was manufactured prior to the 2009 digital TV transition, you might also need an analog-to-digital conversion box.

NFL games you’ll get (reception permitting):

• All local Sunday day games on CBS and Fox
• All Sunday night games on NBC
• Ten Thursday Night Football games (CBS on weeks 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7; NBC on weeks 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16)

Sling TV

With “skinny” streaming bundles such as Sling TV, you can now get live channels that previously required a cable subscription, while still avoiding the sneaky pricing tactics and oversized bundles that tend to make cable so expensive.

Sling TV splits ESPN and NFL Network into separate channel bundles. You’ll need Sling Orange to get the former and Sling Blue to get the latter.

That said, deciphering what NFL coverage you’ll get with Sling TV is a bit tricky. Local NBC and Fox feeds are available only in select markets, so if you only get on-demand access to those channels, you won’t get the games. Meanwhile, ESPN and NFL Network are split into separate bundles. The former requires Sling Orange for $20 per month, while the latter requires Sling Blue for $25 per month, though you can get them together for $40 per month total. Sling Blue users can also add NFL RedZone for an extra $5 per month through the Sports Extra add-on. This story has a complete guide to all the Sling TV channels.

NFL games you’ll get:

• All Thursday Night Football games on NFL Network (with Sling Blue)
• All Monday Night Football games on ESPN (with Sling Orange)
• NFL RedZone (with Sling Blue and the Sports Extra add-on)

Supported platforms: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox One, Channel Master DVR, iOS, Android, PC, Mac

Don't miss this other great story about watching football:

PlayStation Vue

Sling isn’t your only streaming bundle option for live NFL games. You can also subscribe to Sony’s PlayStation Vue service and get all the same coverage options.

Here again, the way it works can be confusing. NBC and Fox games require a non-”Slim” package, which includes live local channels. This is available in select markets and costs $10 more than Vue’s “Slim” bundles. CBS, meanwhile, is available in some areas with Slim packages, and some areas with that don’t carry non-Slim packages. The best way to figure out what you can get is to visit Sony’s PlayStation Vue plan page and plug in your zip code.

NFL Network is included in the PlayStation Vue Core and Elite packages; you can get an entire season of NFL RedZone for an additional $40.

As for ESPN, the former is included in all PlayStation Vue plans (starting at $30 per month in most markets), while NFL Network is part of the Core ($35 per month) and Elite ($45 per month) packages. If you get NFL Network, an extra $40 delivers NFL RedZone for the entire season.

Supported platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Amazon Fire TV, Roku. After signing up through one of those devices, access is also available through iOS, Android, and Chromecast

Twitter

No, seriously. After paying a rumored $10 million for the privilege, Twitter will live-stream 10 Thursday Night Football games—the same ones that will air on CBS and NBC—for free. All you need is a device that can access Twitter.

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