Out-Of-Market NFL Streaming: Watch Every Football Game, Anywhere

Being a Falcons fan while living in San Francisco presents unique challenges when trying to catch NFL games. Thankfully, there are several ways to stay connected and watch these out-of-market matchups.

In a hurry? If you want to start watching live out-of-market NFL games as quickly as possible, here’s a summary of my top suggestions:

How to Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games

Options for NFL fans vary in terms of price, ease of use, and constraints:

The next section discusses each of these options in depth with my commentary.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Ways to Watch Live Out-of-Market NFL Games

Up to 13 games are played each Sunday afternoon, but only 4 air in your local area. This leaves up to nine games unavailable to watch on regular TV. Below I review the ways you can experience NFL games, both live and on replay. (Note that this doesn’t always mean watching.)

Use these links to jump to the content below:

1. Use a VPN
2. NFL+ Premium
3. NFL RedZone
4. NFL Sunday Ticket
5. NFL Game Pass International
6. Listen on the radio
7. Go to a friend’s house

Looking for your favorite team to watch out-of-market during the 2024-25 NFL season? We have a page for each team.

1. Live Stream Out-of-Market NFL Games With ExpressVPN

Using a VPN with a streaming service is the cheapest way to watch live out-of-market NFL games on your smart TV — or any other device.

Regardless of whether you use NFL+, Fubo (formerly FuboTV), or another streaming platform, you can supplement it with a VPN to watch out-of-market games. Don’t be intimidated by VPNs.

I recommend ExpressVPN, although I’ve helped people across the country who use others. I like ExpressVPN because it allows for a lightning-fast connection which is essential for streaming, while keeping your data anonymous and safe. It’s been thoroughly tested for watching live NFL games. And you get a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose.

Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost. Check out our full list of best VPNs for each NFL team.

Costs vary based on how you want to watch and what VPN you use. Here are some examples with NFL+ (mobile devices only) and Fubo (complete access):

If you don’t currently have a sports streaming service, check out our guide below.

How Can You Use a VPN to Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games?

As I said, using a VPN to watch out-of-market NFL games is pretty simple. Follow these steps:

1. Get a premium VPN like ExpressVPN and install it.
2. Get the right streaming service and install it. Fubo is my favorite and it definitely works for watching out-of-market NFL games.
3. Choose your new location. For example, if you want to watch a “San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears” game, you’ll need a San Francisco or Chicago IP address. (Other areas likely show the game as well.) This is as simple as choosing a city from a list or map.
4. Start your streaming service.
5. Find the channel with the game and watch it.

For more detailed information about VPNs, check out our VPN guide.

Is it legal to watch out-of-market NFL games with a VPN?

VPNs are legal in most countries including the United States. In these countries, it is perfectly legal to watch out-of-market NFL games with a VPN. There may be limits in this regard with your live TV streaming services but most do not have any specific restrictions on using a VPN.

2. Stream Out-of-Market Games With NFL+ Premium

NFL+ Premium allows you to watch all NFL game replays. Try it today!

Try NFL+ Premium Now!

With NFL+ Premium, you can watch all games for one low price of $14.99/month.

What’s the catch? You can only live stream local and primetime games — and only on mobile apps.

The other games are available on-demand after they air — right after the conclusion of their telecast in most cases.

NFL+ Premium has more to offer. Not only can you watch this season’s games, you can watch game replays from previous NFL seasons, including playoff games and the Super Bowl.

You also get the ability to watch condensed versions of games that just show the action. Another popular feature is the All-22 Coaches Film, which show all 22 players from two angles.

You can watch live games only on your mobile devices with the NFL app available on iOS and Android.

You can get the NFL+ directly from the NFL. You can also learn more in our NFL+ review. It isn’t my top choice for watching out-of-market games, but I will not face the season without it. It’s essential for serious fans.

Try NFL+ Now!

3. NFL RedZone: How to Watch Every Game All at Once

What is HotDog’s best streaming service choice for NFL RedZone? Fubo offers an amazing selection of live sports with its Sports Extra add-on. Get your free trial!

There are as many as eight games taking place at one time. NFL RedZone is an add-on channel that lets you watch the most exciting moments of all Sunday afternoon NFL games at the same time. This includes up to eight games being shown on screen at the same time — perfect use for high-definition TV.

On Sunday afternoon, the games are played at one of two times. You can’t watch games that are happening at the same time. So you are limited to watching two games:

• 1:00 pm: First Game Set
• 4:25 pm: Second Game Set

RedZone costs $10 to $15 extra per month, depending on your service. With Fubo, it is bundled with 24 extra channels. With Sling TV, it comes with 9 other channels.

You can get NFL RedZone from several live TV streaming services:

• Fubo: The king of international sports is also the cheapest service for local fans of the MLB, NBA, and NHL teams. It costs $79.99/month but to get RedZone, you need the Sports Plus add-on for $10.99/mo. (Fubo review)
• DIRECTV STREAM: The RSN leader now offers NFL RedZone either with its Premier plan ($164.99/month) or with its 21-channel Sports Pack add-on for $14.99/mo. (DIRECTV STREAM review)
• Sling TV: The base Sling Blue plan gives you 40+ channels for just $40.00/month. The Sports Extra add-on for $11/mo gives you nine other sports channels plus NFL RedZone. (Sling TV review)
• Hulu + Live TV: A solid all-around streaming service that includes ESPN+ and Disney+ for $76.99/month. RedZone comes with the 8-channel Sports add-on for $9.99/mo. (Hulu + Live TV review)
• YouTube TV: The base plan includes 100+ channels for $72.99/month. RedZone comes with the 16-channels Sports Plus add-on for $10.99/mo.
• NFL+ Premium: Get all NFL games on replay as well NFL RedZone for $14.99/month.

In addition to NFL RedZone, the above services allow you to watch some complete live NFL games each week.

For more details, see our NFL RedZone guide and our NFL RedZone for Out-of-Market Games guide.

4. NFL Sunday Ticket: Complete Out-of-Market Package

What’s the difference between YouTube’s offerings?

• YouTube + Sunday Ticket provides access to all out-of-market games.
• YouTube TV alone provides access to most in-market games.
• YouTube TV + Sunday Ticket provides access to most in-market games and all out-of-market games.

NFL Sunday Ticket is the gold standard in streaming out-of-market games. It allows you to watch whatever Sunday afternoon games you want. It is available either from YouTube directly or as an add-on for YouTube TV.

Unfortunately, it’s the more expensive way to stream NFL games:

• YouTube: $479
• YouTube TV: $379 plus $72.99/month

You can add NFL RedZone for the entire season to either plan for $40 extra.

Note that the standalone plan from YouTube does not include any in-market or primetime games so you will want to combine it with another service like NFL+.

For full details, see our NFL Sunday Ticket review.

What games aren’t included with NFL Sunday Ticket?

As the name implies, NFL Sunday Ticket provides access to Sunday games — but not all of them. The following games may be excluded:

• Local games broadcast on CBS and Fox
• Sunday night games
• Monday night games
• Thursday night games
• International games
• Holiday games.

Should I get NFL Sunday Ticket?

I don’t think Sunday Ticket is good value for most NFL fans. Most people are served very well by the national and local channels — especially if you add on NFL RedZone. But there are fans who should get Sunday Ticket. The most obvious are fans of a particular team that is out-of-market.

As I said, I’m a Falcons fan who lives in California. Sunday Ticket is a good choice for me. I don’t subscribe, however, because of the price. But there is much to say for the ease it provides fans.

There are other aspects of NFL Sunday Ticket that can make it worthwhile. All-22 Coaches Film, for example, is important to some. But fans who really want to study games can probably get all they want (including Coaches Film) with NFL+ Premium.

5. NFL Game Pass International: Every Game for Fans Outside the US

Watch any and all NFL games you want all the way through the Super Bowl. Sign up for NFL Game Pass International now!

This is the international version of the old NFL Game Pass (now called NFL+). Game Pass International offers a lot more than the US-based version and costs roughly $200 per season, depending on country (eg. €179.99 in Germany, or £159.99 in the UK).

NFL Game Pass offers live streaming of ALL NFL games. Can’t beat that, right? The catch is that it is not available in the US. See our NFL Game Pass review for all the details.

If you are located in Canada, you get the equivalent of NFL Game Pass as part of DAZN. It costs $24.99/month CAD or $199.99/year CAD. That’s an amazing deal for everything you get. Sign up here.

Get NFL Game Pass International!

Note: NFL Game Pass is not available in China.

6. Listen to Out-of-Market NFL Games on the Radio

Listen to all NFL games with SirusXM from wherever you are!

Listening to games may seem a bit old school but with the right commentary team, the action shines right through. I have vivid memories of games I only listened to when I was younger.

You can always listen to local games on radio stations near you. To listen to out-of-market games, you have several options. You can listen to radio coverage for any team with the following services:

• SiriusXM — $9.99/mo
• NFL+ — $6.99/month
• Entravision (Spanish language) — Free

To find local stations where you can listen for free, see our team viewer’s guides.

7. Watch Out-of-Market Games With Friends

Friends, co-workers, and even a local pub or restaurant can be a great option for watching hard-to-find NFL out-of-market games.

This is my favorite way to watch out-of-market NFL games. Super Bowl parties are a big deal for most people, but there’s no reason to limit these get-togethers to only the last game of the season.

Football is best enjoyed with friends and family. Most people know that and welcome company — especially if it comes with drinks and snacks.

Of course, it works the other way too. If you manage to get access to out-of-market games using one of the means listed above, share your bounty by inviting over your friends, co-workers, and family members.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

Alternatively, you could watch games at public places. Many restaurants, bars, and similar establishments show games on Sunday afternoons.

• Sports Bars: There are probably many places near you that specialize in showing sports and they’ll usually show all of the games airing on a Sunday afternoon. Search Google for “sports bars near me.” For those abstaining from alcohol, you can also search for sober sports clubs.
• Restaurants: Often restaurants show sports via satellite television. And even if they are limited to a single game, they may change a channel if you ask them.

There are lots of other places to watch live sports — including many chain restaurants. The problem is that unless the location is focused on sports, they are likely to only feature the same in-market games you’ll see via an antenna.

However, the big thing to keep in mind is that they can all get very expensive if you are eating and drinking at them. Depending where you live, you might easily spend as much on food and drink as the entire NFL season watching on Sling TV with NFL RedZone would cost.

The Worst Way to Watch Out-of-Market NFL Games

There are a number of websites that tout illegal streams for watching NFL games. These dodgy sites rationalize their “services” by saying that NFL games should be free to viewers. 

I disagree. NFL broadcasts are legally copyrighted. What’s more, the league already offers five games each Sunday for free over-the-air. Watching games via pirate streaming services is wrong.

Even if you don’t agree with me, I don’t recommend illegal streams for other practical reasons:

• You could be caught. If the website or service you’re using is found by authorities — and they regularly are — you can bet your identifying information will be on a list somewhere that law enforcement can access.
• The service can be cut. Because they are illegal setups, these sites are often shut down without notification — even in the middle of a game. I’ve heard this from many fans over the past few years.
• Malware. These sites are not making legitimate money so they are often riddled with malware as a revenue stream. Your computer, your payment methods, and your identity may be at risk when you use them. 
• Low quality service. Picture sharpness and resolution are often sacrificed for bandwidth savings. Stream buffering can lag many minutes behind what’s actually happening live.

You’re much better off trying a streaming service for free to watch a one-off game instead of using a scammy website.

Devices to Stream Out-of-Market NFL Games

All the services discussed in this article support the most popular and streaming devices currently on the market. These are universally supported:

Also widely (but not universally) supported are: LG and Vizio smart TVs and Xbox One gaming consoles. PlayStation systems are supported by some services.

NFL Week 12 Schedule

The listings below feature kickoff times. Generally, coverage will begin earlier — usually an hour or more.

What Are Out-of-Market NFL Games?

An out-of-market NFL game is any NFL game that isn’t shown on your local Fox or CBS affiliate on Sunday afternoon. The reason for this is simply that a lot of games happen at the same time and local affiliates only show those games that will be of interest to the greatest number of viewers.

What Are Local Market NFL Games?

During the regular season, anywhere from zero up to 7 of a team’s regular season games will be televised nationally. Some teams will have no games nationally televised while others will have upwards of half their games nationally televised.

There are three nationally televised games each week:

In addition, there are 6 international games throughout the season (most air Sunday mornings), 3 Thanksgiving Day games, and 2 Christmas Day games.

Each Sunday afternoon, you will also have local access to 4 games — two each on Fox and CBS. These games will normally be determined by regional fan interest. So you will also see the game featuring your local team if they’re playing an away game. Also, you will generally see games featuring teams in your local team’s division.

Which NFL Games Are Out-of-Market?

Since there are up to 13 games played on Sunday afternoons (it goes down as low as 10 as the season progresses), there will be 4 in-market games (broadcast on CBS and Fox) and as many as 9 out-of-market games.

This is what the Sunday afternoon programming looks like for the first week of the 2024 NFL season (the rest are similar):

What Are NFL Blackouts?

A blackout is when a game is not broadcast in the local TV market — usually because the game did not sell out. It is a way to encourage people to buy tickets and watch games at the stadium in person.

The NFL has such a blackout policy but it has suspended it every year since 2015.

So why am I discussing it in the context of out-of-market NFL games?

One reason is that blackouts relate to NFL Sunday Ticket. All games broadcast on local channels are blacked out and are not included with Sunday Ticket, which means:

• Sunday afternoon games on local CBS and Fox affiliates
• Primetime games
• International games
• Holiday games.

Wrapping Up

If you are like me and need access to out-of-market NFL games, one of the options above should work for you. Here is a summary of what I discussed above:

But for most football fans, I recommend Fubo along with NFL RedZone. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

FAQs

What is an NFL primetime game?

NFL primetime games are those that occur at night during the TV primetime hours. Some holiday games (eg, Thanksgiving) are primetime games. But mostly, the primetime games are the Thursday Night, Sunday Night, and Monday Night football games. Note that all of these games are broadcast or streamed nationally and not considered out-of-market.

Are there any out-of-market NFL playoff games?

All NFL playoff matchups are broadcast nationally. Once the postseason arrives, the out-of-market issue is over and there are no blackouts. All wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl games are available to everyone and are staggered so you can watch every minute of every game.

Are there out-of-market games outside the United States?

In the vast majority of locations, there are no out-of-market games outside the US. You just subscribe to NFL Game Pass International and you can watch any game. But there are a few exceptions. First, China is excluded. Second, there are local blackouts for international games. So in 2024, some viewers in the UK will miss out on three games — and the same is true for fans in Germany.

What is the cheapest way to watch out-of-market NFL games?

NFL+ Premium for $14.99/month is the cheapest way to watch out-of-market NFL games. But there’s a catch: you can only watch them on replay. If you want to watch live, your cheapest option will be to combine a streaming service that offers in-market games with a VPN. Sunday Ticket with YouTube is a lower-cost option but it does not include any in-market games.

How do I change my location to watch out-of-market NFL games?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can change your location for streaming. You just select a server in a city you are interested in streaming from, and click the city name to connect. However, you will need to know which city is right for your purpose.

How can I stream out-of-market NFL games for free?

Currently, there is no legal way to livestream out-of-market NFL games for free. You can stream many games with free streaming trials but not out-of-market games. You can, however use such services with a VPN to watch out-of-market NFL games. See our VPN guide for how to do this.

I advise against using illegal streams. And recently, there has been a big crackdown on these sites so you may not be able to find one anyway. But remember, local affiliates broadcast in-market games for free. Seriously consider at least setting up a digital antenna.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Follow me

Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

Follow me

Latest posts by Frank Moraes (see all)

• How to Watch Pac-12 College Teams in 2024-25 - 08/06/2024
• States That Have Produced the Best Actors and Actresses - 09/06/2022
• US States With the Fastest Internet - 06/21/2022