The summer is winding down, which means the return of cooler weather, Spirit Halloween stores and football. We are less than two weeks away from the start of another NFL season.
The 2025 NFL season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 4, in Philadelphia with the Super Bowl champion Eagles opening their title defense against the Dallas Cowboys in primetime on NBC and Peacock. The following night, the Chiefs and Chargers face off in Brazil for a game that will -- in an NFL first -- stream live free on YouTube. Then we'll get to the first full Sunday of games on Sept. 7 before week 1 concludes with a Monday Night Football game in Chicago between the Vikings and Bears.
With the start of the season nearing, it's time for fans to map out how to watch or stream NFL games over the 18-week regular season. Let's huddle up and break down your 2025 NFL viewing options and my recommendation for the best way to stream the season.
Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley led the Eagles to a Super Bowl title in their first year together in Philadelphia. Brandon Sloter/Getty Images
TV channels and streaming services needed for NFL football
The broadcast schedule for the upcoming season is largely the same as it was last year, with Sunday afternoon games airing on CBS and Fox, Sunday night games on NBC, Monday Night Football on ABC and ESPN, Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, two Christmas Day games on Netflix and a handful of games played in Europe shown exclusively on the NFL Network. And the aforementioned Friday night week 1 game in Brazil that you can watch free on YouTube.
Other than the YouTube game, what's new for NFL fans this year is the addition of two new direct-to-consumer streaming services just launched from ESPN and Fox that give you more options to watch more games without a cable or satellite TV service. Or, for that matter, without needing a live TV streaming service like YouTube TV or Fubo.
Here are the networks that will broadcast games this season:
CBS: Sunday afternoon games
Fox: Sunday afternoon games
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