Viewing Guide | How to Watch the 2024 NFL Season Live in the U.S.

The 2024-25 NFL season has officially kicked off. Over the next 18 weeks, a total of 272 games will take place. This guide will provide you with key information about the new NFL season and explain how to watch the games legally in the United States.

🏈 About the NFL

The NFL consists of 32 teams, divided into two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). Each conference is further divided into four divisions based on geographic location:

• AFC North: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers
• AFC East: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New York Jets
• AFC West: Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers
• AFC South: Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans
• NFC North: Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings
• NFC East: Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders
• NFC West: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks
• NFC South: Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

📅 Key Dates

• September 5-9, 2024: Week 1 of the regular season
• January 11-13, 2025: Super Wild Card Weekend
• January 18-19, 2025: Divisional Playoffs
• February 9, 2025: Super Bowl LIX (Caesars Superdome, New Orleans)

⌚️ Game Times

Most NFL games are scheduled on Sundays, with additional games on Monday and Thursday nights.

• Sunday Games: 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM Eastern Time (10:00 AM and 1:00 PM Pacific Time) on CBS and Fox. NBC also airs a primetime game on Sunday nights.

📺 Where to Watch

The 2024 NFL season will be broadcast across multiple platforms. Here’s a breakdown of the primary options:

• Local Sunday Games: Broadcast on CBS or FOX, depending on the visiting team’s conference (AFC games on CBS, NFC games on FOX). You’ll only see local market games, typically featuring your area’s home team.
• Out-of-Market Sunday Games: For games not shown in your area, you’ll need to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket via YouTube TV.
• Sunday Night Football: Exclusively on NBC.
• Thursday Night Football: Exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, including a special Black Friday game.
• Monday Night Football: Broadcast on ESPN, with 3 of the 23 games airing on ABC.

🏈 What is NFL+ and Do You Need It?

NFL+ offers live streaming of local and primetime games, but it’s limited to mobile devices and tablets. For most viewers, this service is not necessary.

🏈 Final Thoughts

For most fans, mainstream streaming platforms like YouTube TV and SlingTV will cover all your needs, offering CBS, FOX, ESPN, and NBC, ensuring you can watch local games, Sunday Night Football, and Monday Night Football each week.

Since Amazon Prime Video only broadcasts Thursday games, you shouldn’t subscribe to Prime solely for this purpose. Amazon’s other services, like online shopping and the broader Prime Video library, are more likely to influence your subscription decision.

If you’re particularly interested in watching out-of-market games—like wanting to watch the Philadelphia Eagles while living in New York—then opting for YouTube TV with NFL Sunday Ticket would be the way to go.

Hope this guide helps you enjoy the excitement of the 2024 NFL season.