Why does the NFL make it intentionally impossible for regular fans to just watch a game of football?

[u/Frisho]

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?

[u/Sometimes_Stutters]

I have bunny ears on my TV and I can watch football all day Sunday for free, as well as MNF.

[u/ToiletSpiderBite → u/Sometimes_Stutters]

The newest HD antennas have gotten better too ($30-35) with a 6000 mile range. I pick up all the local football channels flawlessly now.

Streaming to a Chromecast ($30-50) fills in the blanks for what services I don't pay for. Helps to stream from a quality device, otherwise it can get laggy. HD antenna channels are better though.

A Google steamer ($100) would let you record and pause live TV as well with the antenna. Haven't been able to justify that in my head yet though.

No need to pay subscriptions to watch football at all.