Skip to main content

CBS will live stream select NFL regular season games, playoffs, and Super Bowl 50

nfl thursday night football deal cbs nbc stadium american spirit
American Spirit / Shutterstock.com
Even among sports leagues, the NFL is notorious for making it extremely difficult to legally stream its coveted content live. Nonetheless, CBS Sports has managed to expand its free coverage to fans, even without a cable or satellite package. The NFL ON CBS will now live stream two regular season games, as well as Super Bowl 50, the network announced Tuesday. To ice the cake, four playoff games will also be available for free live streaming — which might just be the biggest coup of all.

NFL ON CBS coverage will be free, with no authentication required. Fans can simply visit CBSSports.com using laptops, desktops, and tablets to enjoy the live games. Alternately, they can use connected TV devices, including XBox One, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku streaming boxes or TVs, to watch on the big screen. Verizon customers also have the option of tuning in via NFL Mobile.

“We’re very excited to offer more NFL ON CBS streaming coverage across more digital platforms than ever before,” said Jeffrey Gerttula, CBS Sports Digital’s Senior Vice President and General Manager.

First up for the service will be a broadcast of the New York Jets taking on the Miami Dolphins in London on Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. ET. The following month, CBS Sports will stream Thanksgiving’s meeting of the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys when it airs at 4:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 26. That will be it for the regular season, but NFL ON CBS will later bring us some of the playoff action.

Sadly for NFC fans, as with last year’s coverage, NFL ON CBS will only offer AFC playoff games. The Thanksgiving match-up, which features two NFC teams, and the “Golden Super Bowl” will have to serve as consolation. The real consolation, though, is the fact that the NFL seems to be moving in a direction that makes games more accessible, without making fans resort to the sketchy world of illegal streaming.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
10 biggest Super Bowl broadcasting mistakes, ranked
A blackout occurs at the Superdome during the Super Bowl.

Hundreds of millions of people watch the Super Bowl each year, so viewers will notice when there's a mistake in the broadcast. The pressure is palpable for everyone involved in making this enormous media event run smoothly, but even the Super Bowl doesn't have a spotless track record.

There have been a variety of broadcasting errors involving the game, ranging from humorous to unfortunate to downright shocking. One can only imagine how this year's gameday will turn out, so as fans wait, here's a list of the biggest broadcasting mistakes made during the Super Bowl.

Read more
Super Bowl 2024 announcers: Who is commentating on the Super Bowl?
Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs holds his shoulder pads and smiles.

“The Big Game” is only a few days away. After a long regular season, an NFL champion will finally be crowned in Super Bowl LVIII as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers. The game will be played inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, home of the Raiders.

The Chiefs have won two of the last four Super Bowls and will attempt to win No. 3 on Saturday night. If Patrick Mahomes and company win the Super Bowl, they will be considered one of the NFL's best dynasties, joining the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers and the 2010s New England Patriots. Looking to play spoiler will be the San Francisco 49ers, who are looking to avenge their loss in Super Bowl LIV to the Chiefs. With a 49ers' win, San Francisco will tie the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers for most Super Bowls of all time with six.

Read more
10 highest-rated Super Bowls ever, ranked
Players on a football field at the Super Bowl.

The NFL remains the king of television. In 2024, 93 of the top 100 broadcasts were NFL games. The upcoming Super Bowl 2024 is expected to be the most-watched broadcast of 2024. No other television show can compete with the NFL's ratings, which explains why broadcast networks continue to pay astronomical fees to broadcast games.

Views are only one way to measure the viewership of the Super Bowl. Nielsen ratings determine the percentage of homes watching the Super Bowl out of the total amount of homes in the Nielsen universe. Some of the highest-rated Super Bowls happened many decades ago when the Nielsen universe was smaller. The highest-rated Super Bowl occurred in the early 1980s. Below are the highest-rated Super Bowls ranked from No. 10 to No. 1.

Read more