Every August, as football season begins, fans across the country log into their streaming apps to watch their favorite teams. Many open YouTube or YouTube TV, expecting their subscription to include NFL preseason games. Instead, they see a message saying no games are available.
This confusion happens every year. The reason is straightforward: NFL Sunday Ticket is only for regular-season Sunday games. It does not include August football.
Knowing how broadcasting rights work in August can help you find every game on TV or online without extra hassle.
Understanding Sunday Ticket coverage
NFL Sunday Ticket is made for regular-season football. It lets you watch Sunday afternoon games that are not shown on your local TV channels.
Preseason games have different TV contracts. The NFL gives local TV stations the main rights to show their home team’s exhibition games in August.
Since Sunday Ticket only covers the regular season, your subscription will not show live games until September.
How local stations broadcast preseason football
In August, local affiliate channels have the main rights to show team broadcasts. These stations include:
- CBS
- FOX
- NBC
- ABC
- Regional sports networks
If you live in or near your team’s home area, you can usually watch for free with a digital antenna. You can also use any live TV streaming service or cable package that includes your local channels.
If you live outside your favorite team’s home area, your local stations will show their own local teams. This is when NFL Network and streaming options become useful.
Watching preseason games on NFL Network
NFL Network is the main national channel for preseason football. Throughout August, it shows almost every preseason game in some way.
But there are a few important things to know when watching preseason games on NFL Network:
- Games may be tape-delayed
NFL Network shows several games live each week. Since many games start at the same time on Friday and Saturday nights, the network cannot show every game live.
Many games are shown later at night or early the next morning. By Monday, almost every game from the weekend will have been shown at least once.
- Local blackouts apply
If NFL Network is showing a game live, but you live in one of the teams’ local areas, the game may be blacked out on NFL Network. In that case, you need to watch on your local channel instead.
- Understanding DVR conflicts
If you use a Cloud DVR with services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, or cable, back-to-back or overlapping games on NFL Network can cause recording problems. When two games overlap on the same channel, your DVR usually records the live game first.
The second game will show up in your library after its delayed broadcast ends.
The best alternative: NFL+
If you live far from your favorite team and want to watch their preseason games live, NFL+ is the easiest option.
Unlike Sunday Ticket, the basic NFL+ plan lets you watch all out-of-market preseason games live on supported phones, tablets, smart TVs, and computers.
If a game is not on local TV in your area, you can open the app and stream it live without waiting for a late-night replay on NFL Network.
Summary Checklist for August NFL preseason games
To make sure you never miss a kickoff before the regular season starts, use this quick guide:
- Check your local broadcast schedule to see if the game is on your area’s CBS, FOX, NBC, or ABC channel.
- See if the game is set for a live national broadcast or a late-night replay on NFL Network.
- If you live out of market and want to watch live without waiting for replays, stream the game directly on NFL+.
- Remember, your Sunday Ticket subscription will automatically start when Week 1 of the regular season begins in September.