NFL — Where to Watch
The NFL sells its rights in packages rather than as one block, and it splits them between free-to-air networks, cable and streaming in a way no other league does. The result is that an American viewer needs three or four services to follow a season, while a British or Irish viewer needs none at all to watch part of it.
| Country | Who shows it | Free option |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Sky Sports — more than half of all games, plus RedZone, the playoffs and the Super Bowl. Every game is available through NFL Game Pass on DAZN. | Channel 5 and 5Action carry two live games every regular-season Sunday, plus all six European games, the playoffs and the Super Bowl. |
| Ireland | Sky Sports for the full package; NFL Game Pass for every game. | Virgin Media — at least 22 games a season including the playoffs and the Super Bowl, free to air, contracted to 2028. |
| US | CBS and FOX for Sunday afternoon, NBC and Peacock for Sunday Night Football, ESPN and ABC for Monday Night Football, Amazon Prime Video for Thursday Night Football. Sunday Ticket is sold through YouTube TV. | The Sunday afternoon games on CBS and FOX are free over the air with an antenna. |
| Canada | DAZN Canada, which bundles NFL Game Pass and RedZone into the subscription; TSN also carries NFL, and TSN Premium adds RedZone. | None confirmed. |
| Australia | Kayo Sports, plus NFL Game Pass on DAZN. | None confirmed. |
| Germany | Sky, through WOW, carries NFL; NFL Game Pass on DAZN covers everything. | None confirmed. |
| Mexico & Brazil | NFL Game Pass on DAZN. In Brazil the Game Pass is the headline product. | None confirmed. |
Can you watch it free?
In the UK and Ireland, yes — more than anywhere else in the world. Channel 5 and 5Action show two live regular-season games every Sunday, one at 6pm on 5Action and one at 9pm on Channel 5, and the whole of the postseason, including the Super Bowl. Ireland goes further: Virgin Media has a free-to-air package of at least 22 games a season running to 2028, which is unusual for a league that is normally behind a paywall outside the United States.
In the US, the free route is the one people forget — an antenna. The Sunday afternoon games on CBS and FOX are broadcast over the air. The national windows are not: Sunday Night, Monday Night and Thursday Night football all sit behind a subscription or a streaming service.
The cheapest legal route
- UK, casual viewer. Channel 5 costs nothing. If you want more than two games a week, a NOW day pass at £14.99 covers a Sunday.
- Every game, anywhere outside the US and China. NFL Game Pass on DAZN. It runs in more than 200 markets and comes in Season and Weekly tiers; in the UK a Season pass is £179.99, or 12 payments of £18.99. In Canada it is bundled into the DAZN subscription rather than sold separately.
- US, one team or one season. Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV, or the Sunday afternoon games free with an antenna if your local team is on CBS or FOX.
- RedZone. The cheapest carrier differs by country: NFL+ Premium in the US, TSN Premium in Canada, and Sky or Game Pass Ultimate elsewhere.
Note the shape of the Game Pass: the UK version carries a 24-hour tape delay on two Sunday games rather than live coverage, because the live rights there belong to Sky. That is the kind of clause worth reading before you buy.
Is Thursday Night Football free anywhere?
Where is Sunday Ticket sold?
Does the NFL have a free option in Ireland?
Can I watch the NFL free in the United States?
Does DAZN carry the NFL in the United States?
Where to go next
Watching sport in the UK in the US in Canada DAZN country by country Free live streams