With football season officially underway, NFL fans are flocking to their TV sets, mobile phones, connected TVs, desktops and laptops waiting for their favorite team to take the field. Tonight’s game is a showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. PT at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
However, not everyone has the cash to put down $50+ on a satellite subscription to watch the game. But with more consumers now turning to connected TVs and mobile devices for their daily dose of entertainment, the National Football League has made it easier for cord-cutters and cord-nevers to get their football fix without emptying out their piggy bank.
While fans can watch this upcoming “Monday Night Football” game on the NFL network available on streaming platforms like FuboTV, DirecTV Now, PS Vue and Sling TV — they all charge a monthly subscription fee. The cheapest of these services is Sling TV, which includes the NFL Network in its “Blue” package for $25 per month. Of course, consumers can get around paying the monthly service fee by taking advantage of the free trial period that most of these platforms offer.
But if $25 per month doesn’t fit into your budget or canceling the service after its trial period is too much of a hassle, there is another way to watch the game without spending a dime — as long as you own a smartphone.
Anyone with a smartphone can download the NFL, Yahoo Sports, AOL or Tumblr mobile apps and enjoy tonight’s game at no cost. The same goes for all in market games including regular season and playoff games, and even the Super Bowl. The NFL announced the news in February.