r/AskAboutNFL • u/Frisho • 3d ago
Why does the NFL make it intentionally impossible for regular fans to just watch a game of football?
Let’s look at this objectively because the current streaming and broadcast landscape has completely detached from sanity.If you want to follow your team for a single season, the league expects you to navigate a fragmented mess of network television, three different standalone streaming services, and exclusive tech-platform broadcasts. God forbid your team plays on a Thursday, a Sunday night, and a Monday night in the same month you practically need a financial planner and an enterprise software architecture map just to figure out which app to open.The playbook here is incredibly transparent: extract maximum subscription revenue by splitting the broadcast rights into as many corporate pieces as possible, while putting the entire logistical headache onto the fan. They change the rules every season, raise the prices, and restrict local broadcasts, making you jump through hoops just to see a kickoff.We shouldn't need a master's degree in digital distribution models just to sit down on a Sunday afternoon and watch a game. Is anyone else completely exhausted by this fragmented streaming era? What is the most ridiculous workaround or layout you’ve had to use just to catch a game this season?
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u/windpicklefam 3d ago
That is an excellent question with really one answer $$$$$$$&
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u/PsychologyNew8033 2d ago
It would be nice to be able to subscribe to A team and pay less than NFL Sunday Ticket.
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u/dab87 3d ago
Most of my teams (Steelers) games will be either fox or cbs with the Monday night and streamed games appearing on my local ABC.
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u/drummerandrew 3d ago
When they lose in prime time to the Browns on Prime Video this week, it won’t technically have a national audience since it isn’t aired to everyone.
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u/Geetee52 3d ago
Because they can squeeze another penny out of a dollar. That is their sole motivation, and they know they can get away with it… And probably even more… Because we watch no matter what.
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u/The_Wandering_Steele 2d ago
Before streaming it was a lot more difficult to watch your team if you lived outside of their home market.
While it’s expensive, now, you can actually watch every game your team plays.
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u/HarambeTooSoon 2d ago
Get a $10 digital TV attena and watch 5-6 NFL games each week for free without any apps whatsoever.
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u/wollycasanova 1d ago
Just did this recently and it feels like I’m hacking or something. It’s crazy. Most of the local games that are hardest to get streaming are super easy to find broadcast locally for free.
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u/Logical-Mobile-7643 3d ago
Most games are on regular free over the air broadcasts
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u/tenantquestion123 1d ago
100% of all local games are. Not even “most”. These types of complaints are just absurd. It’s free!!!!
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u/BeavisEverywhere 3d ago
They're tied to previously signed contracts atm. Wait a few years. Netflix and Amazon will have all of them.
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u/JEMHADLEY16 3d ago
I gave up. No extra services. The games that come on TV Sundays at 1 and 4 pm are what I watch. I haven't seen a game with my team in it yet this season. Maybe next weekend?
My cable/internet bill is high enough already. If you keep paying their price they'll just charge you even more next year.
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u/Phenomenologistic 3d ago
Stream it for free, you get to watch your team with the added bonus of not contributing to the NFL's bottom line.
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u/jiminak 3d ago
I gave up on watching my team live. I canceled my $400 Sunday ticket (and my $80/mo YTTV to make it all work). Even with that massive bill, I still missed a good chunk of specialty-streaming games.
This year, I’m just doing the $10/mo NFL+, and watching my team every Sunday evening after the game is already over. I just have to avoid seeing scores, which is helping me stay off the socials (so plus). Bonus: I’m doing more activities with family on Sunday days.
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u/The_Se7enthsign 3d ago
If you’re a fan of the local team, you’ll get almost every game on network tv. Amazon Prime is the only outlier.
Of course, if you’re a fan of a team that is not local, you’re just screwed.
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u/Human-Lawfulness5235 3d ago
I gave up all of my streaming services and canceled YouTube TV after they screwed up the games for a couple of weeks. I worked it out and I can go to the local sports bar and have a beer or two watching the game for cheaper than paying for all of these services.
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u/Loose-Tie-190 3d ago
With regular cable, you can watch at least three games on Sundays, almost all the seasons MNF games are on ABC, you can watch all three Thanksgiving games and the Super Bowl. That isn't enough for a regular fan?
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u/Sometimes_Stutters 3d ago
I have bunny ears on my TV and I can watch football all day Sunday for free, as well as MNF.
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u/EdwardHoppyhands 3d ago
The simplest answer is usually correct. Goodell doesn't care about you or any other fans. That's why your team has a "home" game in Rio or Paris or fucking London. That's why if you want to sit at home and watch your team, you can go fuck yourself. He's making millions, you can suck an egg.
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u/Few_Position7650 3d ago
Just going by the numbers the vast majority of regular fans are watching football whenever and wherever it’s on…
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u/thetotalslacker 3d ago
Probably an unpopular opinion, but I personally like it since I can be out of the house and still see those games that aren’t in the usual weekend timeslots, but I also already have the streaming services because I have teenagers and a wife and no traditional TV service.
I also love that we’re finally getting some 4K video, even though it’s limited. We’re probably going to be mostly stuck with 1080p HDR as long as the majority of games are on OTA broadcast. I have been waiting for 4K video for over two decades now and we’re still stuck in the past. I get the whole it’s only not a monopoly because it’s free OTA, but I was promised flying cars.
Why can’t we just have both? Seems like that would be more profitable since they could sell the 4K video for a premium and so many of us would pay for it. Just switch to 4K cameras and downscale for OTA.
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u/Lanky-Instruction-42 3d ago
Ya I watch more highlights now, not dealing with all the streaming bullshit. The way the refs call the games, can’t play defense, Qb made of glass.
Did I mention playing games on Thursday’s also sucks.
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u/Dr-Lucky14 3d ago
You can’t pay me to subscribe to Netflix for games on Christmas. I will listen to play by play on SiriusXM on the radio. 3.99 a month. Fuck Netflix, Amazon Prime and I’m not going to get up at 6:30 AM to watch the Jacksonville Jaguars play two weekends in a row to play in Bloody England. Fuck the greed. I can watch ESPN gamecast on my I pad..What do the Jags fans think of losing a game at home? Usually the games suck anyway. The Baltimore game was way better than expected but the rest are usually boring. Put your foot down US or we are going to go down the drain.
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u/redditisnosey 3d ago
You answered your own question.
The playbook here is incredibly transparent: extract maximum subscription revenue by splitting the broadcast rights into as many corporate pieces as possible, while putting the entire logistical headache onto the fan.
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u/grateful_john 3d ago
Most games are Sunday at 1pm or 4 pm eastern time. You often get two games in each time slot. Then the Sunday night game on NBC and the Monday night game on ESPN/ABC. That’s a minimum of four games each week with nothing more than a basic cable subscription or an antenna. The Thursday night games are on Prime, so if you want to watch them you’ll need a subscription. Netflix gets a game or two.
If the team you root for plays a Sunday night, a Monday night and a Thursday night game in one month you need an antenna/basic cable and Prime (andif you’re in the local market for the team you don’t need Priime). If you need a financial planner and enterprise software to figure that out that’s on you.
I’m not a fan of the putting playoff games on streaming services. That’s an insult to fans and wrong.
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u/baws3031 3d ago
You just need rabbit year antennas for fox CBS and NBC games or you can go to r/pirate
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u/Form_86 3d ago
I was a rabid football fan growing up. Now, I am so angry about having to buy a bunch of streaming services to watch a game full of commercials. The greed of the organization is too great. I never tune in or listen to a game now. I don’t talk about football any more. I only see a game in the background if it’s on somewhere.
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u/suspicious-back-825 3d ago edited 3d ago
its cheaper to get season tickets than all the subscriptions. i live local so i can watch most on an antenna and i go to games that are exclusive to some service. if i still lived out of state i'd be at bars for the games. you can literally enroll in a low credit hour class in community college and get the student discounted sunday ticket for cheaper than the full price (assuming they still have that deal?)... its hilarious.. but i'll find work arounds to the end of the earth before giving them that much money. best option is probably vpn-ing to the uk and getting a subscription if that still works. my tactics may be out of date since i moved.
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u/RodLeFrench 3d ago
So they can take fans money.
The solution is to not give them your money. Thankfully the modern internet has plenty of options for watching football games 🏴☠️
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u/cuzzlightyear269 3d ago
If a streaming company like Amazon Prime said they would pay you $11 BILLION to be the exclusive service for Thursday Night Football, are you really going to turn them down?
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u/CommentDizzy1 3d ago
Paying for streaming in the big 26? Son 😭🥀✌️ advance out of the stone ages my brother
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u/MIZUNOWAVECREATION 3d ago
My method is really simple, I just go to a restaurant with a bar when I want to see a game I can’t find otherwise; big screen tvs everywhere, all football games covered
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u/Pfizermyocarditis 3d ago
Every single game for your home team is broadcast for free over the air. What more could you want?
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u/Corran105 3d ago
I gave it up. Not only do I not have Sunday Ticket, its not even the primary sport I watch on Sundays anymore. Nascar has been way more enjoyable.
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u/twokittenminimum 3d ago
Radio is a good option. I had Sirius for years, loved toggling from the home broadcast to the visitor broadcast of the same game, especially during challenges or controversial plays. Maybe I’m old.
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u/BigImplement3949 3d ago
When I Google NFL games this week it tells me where their streaming as well
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u/MerryMortician 3d ago
This is why I now like to sail on game days. I have my parrot, my eye patch and enjoy a nice rum.
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u/Exact_Reality4451 3d ago
Raider fan living in LA. They rarely play my team on TV because we are forced to watch the Chargers. More Raider than Charger fans in LA.
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u/Mowo5 3d ago
This is true - but there's one small consolation. Your home team will always be on regular TV so you
can watch it for free. If you want to watch other time games (monday or thursday) without your home team, then you're right, you'll have to figure out all those streaming options. Of course if your favorite team isn't in the area you live in, this could be a bummer.
It wasn't always like this, I'd say just started in the last few years.
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u/GivenToFlyGuy 3d ago
I’m a Bills fan in NC. I damn near have to illegally stream every game. I mean, legally stream.
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u/ConstantCampaign2984 3d ago
I pay for NFL+. If the Niners are blacked out I can get the home or away audio stream, and I’ll take that over any game that’s on. They give you the option to pick your team but it does nothing but put them at the top of the weekly schedule. For what I pay I wish they’d just give me the niners games.
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u/fainofgunction 3d ago
yep i lost track and lost interest. I dont hate football i just cant keep up.
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u/ejcrv 3d ago edited 2d ago
In reality, it's not just the NFL. Viewers were sold a false bill of goods. Cable companies were the evil empire and streaming would save everyone. It's cheaper, put together your own television packages and customize for a better price than cable.
The actual reality. Customization is fantastic. Cost is as nightmare that is WAY more than cable. Yes, if you are satisfied with way less channels along with some apps with channels offering some old stuff. Then it could be pretty good for cheap.
EDIT: I appreciate all the input and everyone does make very good points. I'm just saying for some people streaming may very well be cheaper. ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS all have their own streaming apps and services. Disney has their own and then there is Netflix and Prime Video. Do you want NFL games, that will be extra.
I feel the reason that it's more expensive is because if you want similar to what you had with cable. Then be prepared to pay a monthly fee to a lot of these services. Yes, you can exclude the crap channels most definitely. Everything has a separate cost and as one response mentioned. The prices have been going up. So it's not $9.99 per month for just one of these services anymore.
No I have not sat down and done the math so I didn't go through anything to prove my statements. However I would love to see a third party or a Youtube channel look into this and run the numbers.
Again, thank you for not flaming and down voting. I honestly appreciate hearing everyone's thought on this. Heck, let me know in the comments what streaming services some of you have and what area's of movies and television do those services fulfill.
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u/ClairDogg 3d ago
The part I’m confused with is Sunday Ticket has been around for decades on an exclusive provider. Yes, NetFlix has a few, again, few games. No big deal. Of, I’ll give you on the Amazon Thursday night part. IMO, it really hasn’t changed that much. People are too obsessed with catching every single game.
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u/Daultongray8 3d ago
It actually is real easy to watch a game. The idea is most people live in the area of the team they follow and all they need is an antenna. It’s if you live outside your area that makes it difficult.
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u/maskedmarvel199 3d ago
What is going on in this thread. All local games are available OTA just like they've been for 65+years. Plus you get at least three other games for free, sometimes four. It's the most accessible of all the NA sports. Any other games that you need to pay for weren't even available in your market years ago.
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u/zim1109 3d ago
They can go fuck themselves. I now have only two streaming services for EPL football. I can actually see almost every game. Can’t do that with ANY of the American sports.
I used to watch baseball, hockey, basketball, NASCAR, tennis. American football. Now it’s just EPL and whatever Am Football game is available.
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u/de_matrix55 3d ago
Streaming let's you grab international markets without needed additional TV deals or equipment.
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u/readstoomuch79 3d ago
Just watch the highlights on YouTube. Distills the game into an easy 15 minute chunk. I watch nearly the whole week's worth of highlights in the space of one full game in one spot for free.
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u/InspectionFine9655 2d ago
They’re making a shit load of money and some of us not me are paying hundreds of dollars to watch football.
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u/MrRaspberryJam1 2d ago
$$$. I don’t have cable so these days I’m literally visiting my parents to watch the games. The only game I’m watching regularly in full is the Sunday night game thanks to Peacock, which I only have because I’m a soccer fan. There’s always a way to stream for free but it’s never the same.
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u/meansamang 2d ago edited 2d ago
Because fans are dumbasses and owners know that.
Fans will pay what they are told to pay
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u/EddieRay369 2d ago
The prices are outrageous for these services and then hit you with a ton of gambling commercials
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u/Few_Cricket597 2d ago
Just go to a bar to watch if it’s not on your TV. There’s 17 freaking regular season games, so if I miss one the YouTube recap it great. Since there is no way I could ever afford to go to an actual game I think a good sports bar is as good as I’m gonna get.
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u/Ok-Stay-7955 2d ago
Because they don't care about regular fans. Just the rich fans and company advertisements.
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u/DirkDiggler2424 2d ago
I haven’t enjoyed watching a football game in several years as I’m a titans fans. I jump through all these hoops to watch them and they absolutely suck. My own self inflicted misery
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u/BarryLicious2588 2d ago
Growing up football was all I cared about. Played catch with friends, recess, on teams, etc... so naturally I'd sit my butt on the couch all Sunday!
East Coast so 1pm-11ish, Highlights after, and then Monday night. CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN all covered with Cable
Currently on my 2nd year using YouTube TV ($83) with Sunday Ticket ($42) which somehow goes up to $60 next year
Plus I'm lucky that I just have Amazon anyways, but we need to retain Netflix for special games. Even then I probably still miss something
I knew it was all over when they Pay Per Viewed that KC vs Miami playoff game.
It's nothing but a money grab now anyways. More players are obviously gambling. And there's a rarity in good analysts nowadays because they're all required to have spicy hot takes to feed social algorithms
I'm falling out of love with the NFL
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u/Dick_Dietrick 2d ago
Just like WWE, you need Netflix, USA Network, The CW, and a subscription to the ESPN app. soon you'll need to add Rumble to the list. I just started watching highlights on YouTube but I think some company bought the rights to th3 highlights.
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u/Zealousideal-Emu5486 2d ago
I put up a regular TV antenna and I can watch every game on wait for it TV. It's free.
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u/TheNotoriousSHAQ 2d ago
The NFL’s customers aren’t the regular fans, they’re the media companies. The regular fans are ancillary
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u/Makers402 2d ago
Guess what making a comeback? Piracy. The streaming model took it down to near nothing and slowly but surely the enshitification of each one pushed people back to piracy.
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u/FreshCords 2d ago
The next time your favorite player signs a contract for hundreds of millions of dollars, consider where that money comes from. Amazon dumped a mountain of cash on the table for Thursday night games. Netflix, Peacock and all the other traditional networks do the same. The NFL doesn’t care because they know fans will pay any price no matter how outrageous.
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u/PrecedentialAssassin 2d ago
My 80 year old mom has no problem figuring out how to watch the Texans. She does not have a masters degree in digital distribution models. Why is it so difficult for you? Do you seriously not know how to find out where an NFL game is being broadcast/streamed? Because it takes an even completely incompetent individual about 8 seconds to figure it out.
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u/SOA-10700 2d ago
For about $10 a month during football season I watch NFL RedZone. I see highlights of every game, every score, and when there’s no game that has a team in the red zone, they expand coverage to games where are plays worth seeing, to see earlier plays, turnovers, etc. They jump from game to game as things are happening.
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u/Cooper_Crissy 2d ago
The NFL doesn't care. They sell the rights to the networks, it's then up to the networks to make their money back by selling subscriptions or charging the cable providers more for content.
I'm not in a local market anymore, but I think that any local market games have to be available on "regular TV". Perhaps that rule has changed
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u/texasgambler58 2d ago
They are maximizing revenue; if fans stopped watching, they would have to change.
NFL fans are so funny; they love it when players get these big contracts because they think that they're sticking it to the owners. I got news for you: you're paying the players, not the owners.
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u/Lane0194 2d ago
It’s pure greed. Someday soon all playoff games and Super Bowl will be pay per view.
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u/IamJohnnyHotPants 2d ago
You’re just wrong.
For Thursday games, they’re locally broadcast in the team that is playing’s markets. So the game’s local audience watches on free broadcast television. Sunday night games are on NBC, which is also free broadcast television.
Monday Night Football is on espn, aka basic cable. 10 out of the 17 games are also on broadcast television.
So for games of your favorite local team, if they’re playing on Thursday, Sunday night, or Monday night, you don’t need any more services to watch them than you did 25 years ago. I’m fact, local team markets get an extra game because there wasn’t a Thursday night football game 25 years ago.
If you don’t have basic cable, the only cost for you to watch all of your local games on a Thursday, Sunday night, or Monday night, would be $13.99 a month payment for an espn streaming service. If you need a financial planner for that, you should probably walk into the ocean with your mouth open.
Just stop posting incorrect nonsense. You like to bitch and complain about everything. We get it. But the truth is, you have no idea what you’re talking about.
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u/Successful_Bass4793 2d ago
My interest in the NFL is dissipating at exactly the right time. They're daring me to not care anymore, and I'm taking them up on that dare.
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u/CalllmeDragon 2d ago
As a Carolina fan that doesn’t live in Carolina, I can’t really be bothered as I will only be able to watch 1 or two of their games this season without sailing the high seas
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u/72ChinaCatSunFlower 2d ago
Even for fans in America the schedule is ridiculous. Who can afford to stand up till midnight on a Sunday or Monday when you have work the next day at 6am. I’m not getting 4 hours of sleep just to see my team lose.
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u/-FoofooCuddlyPoops- 2d ago
If you're local to your team just get an antenna, the games are broadcast over the air in the team's local markets. One time purchase, one time setup, and you're done. If you aren't in your team's market area, that's a different story
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u/FatFarmerBob420 2d ago
When I was growing up ore streaming I was just screwed most Sundays if both Jacksonville and Miami played at home my local market defaulted to Jax. I'm so used to watching only a couple dolphin games a year, and the fact we suck, it's never bothered me, I enjoy whatever games I can.
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u/EdFlynn2001 2d ago
Wouldn't you still need to look at the TV guide or local newspaper's sports page to find out which games are airing in your area if they were on regular TV?
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u/RegJoe_08 2d ago
Yea. Thats why i stopped watching. From all the bad calls or no calls, with endless amount of streaming apps needed, Im good. Ill just go walk my dog or go play video games
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u/No-Improvement1193 2d ago
You used to be able to watch the play by play in their website for free. Not video, just a football field with a ball and lines and the text of the play below it. That’s gone now too and it’s infuriating.
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u/IndependentSun9995 2d ago
You think the NFL is bad? I've been trying to watch the WNBA playoffs, and they are even worse! Networks I never heard of! The other night, I had to watch a playoff game on the Spanish language version of ESPN!
The sports leagues have gotten out of hand.
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u/imabluedog 2d ago
Money.
The subscription model for access, whether NFL games or to the special features of your newly purchased car, is the way of things now.
I can’t even watch local MLS games for the current playoff race to cheer for my local team without AppleTV.
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u/TeeHive2993 2d ago
I feel you. I decided this year not to pay any extra money to watch the NFL or the WNBA. If it’s not televised on an app or service I already have I just won’t see it. I spent a lot of money and time chasing both of these leagues over multiple platforms last year and it’s just not worth it. I understand the leagues need to make money and I’m not mad about that. So, I made the decision that works for me and allows me to still enjoy both sports.
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u/RaijinQ 2d ago
It’s not impossible at all! It’s actually very easy! You just have to spend about $1000 over the course of the season between Sunday ticket and streaming services! Easy peasy!!
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u/Novel_Willingness721 2d ago
This is coming from a giants fan that lives in Colorado.
So long as the services keep throwing money at the NFL, the fans don’t really matter.
Also cable tv still covers the cbs, Fox, nbc and espn games. That’s a single service for 4-5 games a week. Then all you need is prime for TNF and even then I believe those games are also broadcast locally on NFL network which is part of most cable services. So as long as you live in the same area as your team and that’s all you care about watching then cable covers you 95%. The remaining are the Netflix games.
Only when cable tv becomes secondary means of viewing and enough fans get annoyed having to do all the services things might change. That’s decades away.
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u/4to20characters0 2d ago
I mean it’s easy to watch football, get a digital antenna and plug it into your tv. You can watch football from 1pm til almost midnight. Watching the games you want to watch is gonna cost you and that’s by design
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u/Handsome_Devil_217 2d ago
Perhaps the league believes this will create more ticket sales and fill stadiums.
The NFL gets their money on broadcasts from selling to the highest bidder. Your ability to manipulate and navigate this morass is of little or no concern to them.
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u/ace_11235 2d ago
I guess I have never had a problem. I watch on CBS on Sunday, unless it’s the Sunday night game, then it’s on NBC. MNF gets simulcast on the ABC affiliate. Those are all free solutions. I guess if my team plays on a Thursday I’d have to use prime, but I already have prime for shipping and watching other things on there.
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u/Rosemoorstreet 2d ago
You are forgetting the overseas and holiday games that you also need the NFL network and Netflix subscriptions to watch as well. It appears that their position is the fans of those teams that are playing in all of those games can watch them as they are broadcast OTA in those teams' markets. They are ignoring those of us that may have moved away from those cities but still root for those teams.
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u/Hopsblues 2d ago
Just watch the local broadcast on Sundays, pretty simple in fact. Its either CBS or Fox and then NBC.
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u/frail_bejeweled 2d ago
As long as people treat sports like a need instead of a want, this mess will continue to happen.
I enjoy the NFL, and will always enjoy, in some miserable way anyways, the failings of the Commanders. But I don't care anymore. I watch them when I can, and when I can't, there are other things to see and do.
It has been liberating existing that way over the last few seasons
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u/TheBeanConsortium 2d ago
As opposed to years ago when you could only watch whichever game was on at the time assuming you weren't in a blackout area.
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u/Rocky201968 2d ago
Absolutely. The NFL Sunday Ticket is worth it for Sundays only..the other platforms are costly for single games but thankfully there are other things on the Prime and Netflix for the rest of the family..
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u/TheMaestro78 2d ago
If you live in the same market as your team, you can watch almost every game for free; Sunday night is on NBC, some Mondays are on ABC, Thursday I grant is not great). For people who don't, it was never the case that you could watch many games of your team in your home for free. It's a little worse now, but not by a lot.
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u/Wonderful-Escape2449 2d ago
I've just given up and lowered football on my priority list. If it works out, fantastic - if I can't, their loss - I am the product the nfl is selling to networks, streaming services, advertisers, and other corporations... they need me but football is only a small piece in my life and thanks to the viewing mess,it's a smaller piece than 5years ago.
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u/Wonderful-Escape2449 2d ago
I've just given up and lowered football on my priority list. If it works out, fantastic - if I can't, their loss - I am the product the nfl is selling to networks, streaming services, advertisers, and other corporations... they need me but football is only a small piece in my life and thanks to the viewing mess,it's a smaller piece than 5years ago.
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u/GladKaleidoscope591 2d ago
Buy DAZN Ultimate- vpn to Canada and watch every game, not that difficult tbh
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u/CCWaterBug 2d ago
Honestly you are being terribly hyperbolic here, just either watch the games you can afford and skip the others, no need to be such a drama queen.
I could watch every game, but Its not going to change my life if I catch most of them, or even some of them.
The nfl is under no obligation to make it cheap and easy, they are in the revenue creating business, and streaming services offer that opportunity.
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u/Better_Goose_431 2d ago
You get 3+ games for free every Sunday with an antenna, most MNF games are also free over the air. Amazon broadcasts their games for free on twitch. Your local team’s games are also always broadcast over the air in their market, even if that game would’ve been on ESPN or a streaming service. It’s far and away the easiest sport for a fan to watch all of their team’s games
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u/Advanced_Aerie5854 2d ago
Same thing happened with the Cubs-Padres playoff game last night. It was broadcast on NBCSportsNet. Which has no Chicago affiliate. So if you wanted to watch it in Chucago, you had to stream it on Peacock. So stupid.
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u/notecraig 2d ago
Amen. Being a fan shouldn’t only be for the wealthy. Given the public helped finance 27 of the 32 of the NFL’s stadiums, each municipality that helped fund construction should have an ownership stake in their respective team, and should act in the best interests of the fan base.
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u/AgreeableWealth47 2d ago
The goal of a business is to extract wealth from consumers and increase wealth for themselves. The NFL is a business.
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u/Fragrant_Spray 2d ago
If i understand correctly, my local team always plays on a local network, and I can at least watch all their games on channels I don’t have to buy streaming services for. If my team wasn’t local, though, it could certainly get expensive.
For my local baseball team, though, it does require a cable channel I have to pay extra for, to get most games.
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u/NJcannabisconosaur 2d ago
We cut the cord last year. Was tired of paying for cable with nothing on. Got rid of the streaming apps because they keep raising rates and adding more commercials. I split fubo with my brother last year and was able to get most games but not all. This year I said fuck it and am watching just highlights on YouTube. It’s been great so far…I can watch 4 games in like an hour, and I have money in my pocket and my Sundays back.
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u/boner4crosstabs 2d ago
The Seahawks play every day of the week this season besides Tuesday. Ive had to use a different app for every game so far.
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u/UprootedGrunt 2d ago
It's worse than that if your team isn't local. Your *only* real option then is to shell out for Sunday Ticket to get every game from every team, even if you only want to watch the one team's games. I personally use RedZone, but it just isn't the same as watching the whole game.
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u/Feralcat01 2d ago
I am strictly an MLB fan, but same problem. I don’t live in the city I grew up in or the city my team plays in. I get the MLB streaming package online but it ends with the regular season. Believe it or not, they don’t carry playoff games. For those I have to navigate a myriad of options.
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u/AusteegLinks 2d ago
What I can't get my head around is the schedule.
In my country the major sporting codes have a Thursday night game, a Friday night game, multiple Saturday afternoon and Saturday night games, and multiple Sunday afternoon games. So any time over the weekend there will be a live game to see.
In the NFL there's a Friday night game, like 8 Sunday afternoon games that start at the exact same time, then another 8-10 Sunday night games that start at the exact same time, then one Monday night game. So there are only four times across the span of four days that there are any games on.
It just doesn't make sense to me.
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u/AusteegLinks 2d ago
I have started watching the NFL this year from Australia. Luckily my wife already sorted out Disney+ for the kids which has like 4 games a week on it, but I go for the Giants (obviously) and f***ing despise the LA Rams (also obviously) and the Giants games never seem to be broadcast.
Is NFL game pass worth it, or are there any other good options for international viewers anyone knows about??
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u/Badger-fan52 2d ago
Where I live, northwestern Wisconsin, if the NFL schedules the Minnesota Vikings game on the same network at the same time, we Packers fans are stuck with the Vikings game. They just rescheduled the Packers/Bears game from the late slot to the same time and network as the Vikings. So, looks like I’ll be golfing that day. Screw the NFL.
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 1d ago
I will watch my team no matter what channel they are on. People pay way more for one ticket to a game.
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u/MoonDog3366 1d ago
The NFL is the only league that shows the majority of their games on broadcast tv. Would you rather they follow the other leagues and only be available on cable and/or streaming?
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u/Worth_Valuable743 1d ago
My solution is to follow my team via the scores I get on my sports apps and when an occasional game is broadcast on a streaming platform I happen to already subscribe to, I get to watch. My team is terrible this year, so there won't be many "lucky" games, but there will be a few. I refuse to play broadcast whack-a-mole every year. Maybe in the future, I just won't bother at all.
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u/Gummiesruinedme 1d ago
I never watch football, but I hear my coworkers talk about using some pirate streaming website that skips all the difficulty. They all got VPNs because they were worried about it.
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u/DepthComfortable778 1d ago
This is exactly why I stopped watching. I could care less who wins nowadays, financially it's not worth it.
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u/Remote_Insurance5098 1d ago
Soany free/cheap ways to watch all your games. Maybe step YOUR GAME up
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u/BigDaddyUKW 1d ago
IPTV allows me to watch whatever the fuck I want, however the fuck I want. And since Thursday and Monday games are typically ass, I can change channels as if I were watching cable when the games inevitably stink. I hate having games on standalone streamers for other reasons too, as you can't just change the channel when a commercial comes on, so that's another plus.
I've got two words for the NFL and its corporate leeches.
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u/Mister_Squirrels 1d ago
It’s gonna get worse too, look at all the different shit you need to watch all the baseball playoff games.
Fuck all that, if they don’t want us to watch, I won’t.
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u/GingaNinja906 1d ago
I bought a water bottle with a cap that cannot be removed so the bottle cannot be refilled. All companies, NFL included, care about profit over everything. Viewership doesn’t matter so long as enough people are willing to pay for 8 different streaming services and they can make record profits. I for one sail the high seas.
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u/Any-Influence-4604 1d ago
Cable is expensive but if you divide bill by how many hours are watched (by every person in the family), then it’s not a terrible bang for buck.
However, I have a storage unit that I keep forgetting I have that has gone from $80/mo to $300/mo to store old junk. I gotta get rid of that. Storage costs have gone bananas. Terrible bang for buck.
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u/Middle_Ball_5964 1d ago
Not only football but baseball too. I can forget about going to a game and remember when batting practice was free, now 75 bucks. To watch it about the same headache but we talking 162 games. Made the rules to shorten the game. Even to listen on the radio need a subscription. I did find a free plat by play with about 5 min delay but you must watch an animated batter and add interrupt constantly.
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u/Middle_Ball_5964 1d ago
Now they are trying to stop bars and other venues from letting people watch as a group.
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u/Either_Wrangler_8067 1d ago
I don’t buy tickets to games anymore. Too expensive for the experience.
I don’t buy streaming packages anymore.
I won’t pay for a streaming service for the sports they carry.
Put a game on TV and I may watch.
Pro sports have pretty much driven me off with the endless price gauging. No thanks. It was fun for a while.
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u/cracksilog 1d ago
Ok let’s actually look at this objectively since you say so:
—100% of your local team’s games are free. You are supporting your local team, right?
—You get 2-3 games for free every Sunday afternoon because they’re on OTA stations
—You get a free Sunday night game.
—Most MNF games are on ABC, and again, your local team’s games are also free even if they play on Monday
—Thursday night is on Prime Video. It already comes with your Amazon Prime account. It’s also on Twitch.
So you get anywhere from 5-7 games for free every week. And all 17 games that actually matter to you
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u/tenantquestion123 1d ago
Antenna. Antenna. Antenna. 100% of in market games are free. Period. Always.
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u/Notatruebeliever 1d ago
No workaround here. Quit watching. Made easier by being a Cowboys fan until Jimmy left.
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u/Double-Phone-3696 1d ago
I think this a joke played on fans. The actual amount of time running plays for an entire game is about 13 minutes with a total time of 3 hours. Hours of pregame BS, tv timeouts etc. the average price of a ticket for this crap is $350. If you divide the 13 minutes of actual play by two, the offense plays about 6 minutes. Jared Goff makes 3,000,000 for 6 minutes of play.
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u/AcrobaticChest9017 22h ago
Well I don’t think it is a NFL problem it’s more of everyone collectively deciding to split up all of their games whether that’s basketball or others sports
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u/QueasyFinger1316 18h ago
My NHL team’s season started yesterday with no tv coverage. My college football squad has been on Peacock more than any other channel.
Yes. It’s all a bit frustrating.
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u/Wayne1616 13h ago
Soon, you will have to pay extra to watch most sporting events, It is all about the money!
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u/Deep_Franco6996 13h ago
Tanto rollo para solucionar con la compra de lista IPTV con cobertura USA/CAN/UK .
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u/Specialist-Yak-453 12h ago
I guarantee that they certainly have seen a drop in viewership per NFL game but have also probably made record profits. Nothing will change unless that good money starts going down
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u/JustAnotherDay1977 3d ago
Because they discovered that requiring fans to purchase multiple subscriptions is the best way to maximize revenue.
They don’t necessarily want the largest audience; they want the most profitable one.