SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The pro football season kicks off next week, but NFL fans may notice a challenge. Games are increasingly scattered across broadcast, cable and streaming services. So how does the fan keep track of this? Helping us sort it through is NPR TV critic Eric Deggans. Hey, Eric.
ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: Hi.
DETROW: I want to start with an expert quote. One of the producers on our show called the season, quote, "a micro-casting nightmare for folks who just want to watch some football." Do you think that's accurate? And, like, where are fans going to be able to watch games this season?
DEGGANS: Well I don't know about nightmare, but yeah, it will be a challenge. Pro football is one of the most popular programming elements on TV. So as more people move to streaming, the games are moving too. So it's worth noting that most NFL games will still be accessible on a good collection of channels - CBS, NBC, Fox, ABC, ESPN, NFL Network.
But NBC, for example, and the streaming service Peacock are going to feature an NFL kickoff game on Thursday. And Peacock will also stream exclusively a game on Friday from Brazil, and that game is going to be the first regular season NFL game in South America and the first Friday night game on opening weekend in over 50 years, according to NBC.
DETROW: I can see how this gets overwhelming. So can you walk us through the games available on different nights of the week?
DEGGANS: Sure. So once the season gets going, Amazon's Prime Video, for example, is going to exclusively stream "Thursday Night Football" games. They also have a Black Friday game and a wild card playoff game. Now, Sunday afternoon NFL games are generally split between CBS and Fox. NBC and Peacock also have 18 regular season games on "Sunday Night Football," along with a Thanksgiving night game and a Saturday game in December. "Monday Night Football" games are on ESPN, with some also carried on ABC and ESPN+. And let's not forget Netflix, which will exclusively offer two Christmas Day games as part of a new deal with the NFL. Yes, it's a lot.
DETROW: Look. I know we all manage this in different ways in our life of when you turn on and off the streaming channels. If you are an NFL casual fan, what kind of services are platforms do you think you need going into the fall?
DEGGANS: Well, I think a digital antenna can get you free access to broadcast stations, which would have a lot of NFL games on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox in your market. Cable systems can give you that and ESPN. If you're already a football fan, there's a good chance you've already got these anyway. If you want to add some streaming options this season for the games that are exclusive on streaming services, you're going to have to subscribe to Netflix, Prime Video and/or Peacock, and they cost between $14 to $25 a month for ad-free experiences.
DETROW: All right. So that's the casual fan. Let's say super fan, or since it's 2024, maybe somebody who is very into betting on football. What are they going to arm themselves with?
DEGGANS: Right. Well, YouTube TV, which is a service that includes access to broadcast and cable channels, can get you the broadcasters, plus the NFL Network and ESPN. They also have NFL Sunday Ticket, which gives you access to games on Sunday that are outside of your local market. Now, that's pricey. It's $160 a month for YouTube TV and Sunday Ticket together for four months or $120 per month over four months for Sunday Ticket by itself.
Now, there's other online platforms like Fubo, Sling TV, and the NFL's own streaming service, NFL+. They offer access to games.
Now, Fubo's deluxe plan, for example, is $80 a month, but it could be a slightly cheaper way to access a lot of games without getting a cable TV subscription for cord cutters. And if you're still confused, ESPN has created this page on its apps and website called Where To Watch where you can look up what media platforms are airing which games. And what's obvious is that it's just going to take a little more money and a little more time for most football fans to sort all of this out.
DETROW: That is NPR TV critic Eric Deggans. Eric, thank you very much.
DEGGANS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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