Sports fans who want to cut the cord to cable know one of the challenges is making sure they have a way to watch live sports. Fortunately, there are many streaming services that include the channels needed to catch the action live.
NFL fans know the week starts with the Thursday Night Football game. But Thursday Night Football is also the branding for any NFL games in London, on Christmas Day and for Saturday doubleheaders later in the season.
Thursday Night Football games are only distributed by three media outlets — FOX, NFL Network, and Amazon Prime Video. For fans without cable, there are many live streaming services that will give you access to these outlets.
Thursday Night Football Schedule 2021
With the exception of the London game, the Christmas Day games and the Saturday doubleheaders, all Thursday Night Football games start at 8:20 p.m. ET. The NFL Network carries every game and is the sole broadcaster for eight games during the season.
| Week No. | Teams | Location | Time | Channel |
| 2 | New York Giants at Washington Football Team | Washington D.C. | 8:20 p.m. ET | NFL Network |
| 3 | Carolina Panthers at Houston Texans | Houston, Texas | 8:20 p.m. ET | NFL Network |
| 4 | Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals | Cincinnati, Ohio | 8:20 p.m. ET | NFL Network |
| 5 | Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks | Seattle, Wash. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 5 | New York Jets at Atlanta Falcons | London, England | 9:30 a.m. ET | NFL Network |
| 6 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Philadelphia Eagles | Philadelphia, Penn. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 7 | Denver Broncos at Cleveland Browns | Cleveland, Ohio | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 8 | Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals | Phoenix, Ariz. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 9 | New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts | Indianapolis, Ind. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 10 | Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins | Miami, Fla. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 11 | New England Patriots at Atlanta Falcons | Atlanta, Georgia | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 13 | Dallas Cowboys at New Orleans Saints | New Orleans, La. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings | Minneapolis, Minn. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 15 | Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers | Los Angeles, Calif. | 8:20 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 16 | San Francisco 49ers at Tennessee Titans | Nashville, Tenn. | 8:20 p.m. ET | NFL Network |
| 16, Christmas Day Special | Cleveland Browns at Green Pay Packers | Green Bay, Wisc. | 4:30 p.m. ET | FOX, NFL Network, Amazon Prime |
| 16, Christmas Day Special | Indianapolis Colts at Arizona Cardinals | Phoenix, Ariz. | 8:15 p.m. ET | NFL Network |
How to Watch Thursday Night Football on Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV has one basic package, with more than 75 channels for $64.99/mo., which includes both FOX and the NFL Network.
In addition to the NFL Network, Hulu + Live TV carries several other sports stations, including the CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNews, FS1, FS2, Motortrend, NBC Golf, NBC Sports Network, and the Olympic Channel. For college sports fans, Hulu + Live TV offers the ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPNU, ESPN College Extra, and the SEC Network.
For an additional $9.99/month, you can get Hulu + Live TV’s Sports Add-on, which comes with the NFL RedZone channel, which will show you every scoring play for games on Sunday. You’ll also get TVG, TVG2, Sportsman Channel, Outdoor Channel and MavTV.
You can also upgrade to premium networks, enhanced cloud DVR and unlimited screens.
With one package, Hulu + Live TV makes it easy and is a great option for Thursday Night Football. With this service, you’ll be able to watch every Thursday Night Football game throughout the season.
How to Watch Thursday Night Football on YouTube TV
YouTube TV also has a single package, which is $64.99/mo., for more than 85 channels, including both FOX and the NFL Network. Other sports channels on YouTube TV are the CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, ESPNews, FS1, FS2, MLB Network, MLB Game of the Week, Motortrend, NBA TV, NBC Golf, NBC Sports, Olympic Channel, SNY, ACC Network, Big Ten Network and the SEC Network. The Sports Plus Add-on package, at $10.99/mo., includes 14 additional sports channels, including the NFL RedZone, SportsGrid, Stadium, Stadium College Sports, and more.
YouTube TV comes with unlimited cloud DVR recording space and is the only service to offer this benefit as part of its basic package.
With both FOX and the NFL Network, YouTube TV is another great option for fans of Thursday Night Football.
How to Watch Thursday Night Football on fuboTV
fuboTV offers 3 English-speaking packages and 1 Spanish-language plan. Like the previous providers, fuboTV’s Starter plan, which comes with 114 channels for $64.99/mo., includes both FOX and the NFL Network.
Started as a destination for sports fans, fuboTV has a lot of sports channels. The basic package includes CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN 2FS1, FS2, NBC Sports Network, NBC Golf, Motortrend, Olympic Channel, TVG, fubo Sports Network, ACC Network, Big 10 Network, SEC Network, and multiple beIN Sports and TUDN channels.
For $10.99/mo., you can add the Sports Plus with NFL RedZone package, which also includes ESPNU, MLB Network, MLB Strike Zone, NBA TV, NHL Network, Stadium, and 17 other sports channels. For $9.99/mo., the Sports Lite package offers 8 extra sports channels, including MLB Network, NBA TV, and the NHL Network. NBA League Pass is also available for $28.99/mo. The Starter package comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR and can be streamed on up to 3 screens at a time.
With so many sports options, fuboTV is an excellent choice for streaming Thursday Night Football.
How to watch Thursday Night Football on Sling TV
Sling TV gives fans three plan options. Sling Orange and Sling Blue are each available for $35/mo., while the two packages combined are $50/mo. Sling TV does not offer local channels, so FOX will not be available through this service. However, the NFL Network is included in the Sling Blue package.
The only other sports channels in the Sling Blue package are FS1 and NBC Sports Network. The Sling Orange package has ESPN, ESPN 2, and Motortrend. The Stadium channel is available in both packages.
Sling TV’s Sports Extra package runs $11/mo. and offers 14 channels, including MLB Network, MLB Strike Zone, NBA TV, and NHL Network. Sling Blue comes with a 50-hour cloud DVR, with simultaneous streaming on up to 3 devices. However, since FOX is not available through Sling TV, this service is not as good an option as the 3 previous providers for watching Thursday Night Football.
How to watch Thursday Night Football on DIRECTV STREAM
The streaming provider that’s the most like cable, DIRECTV STREAM has 4 packages for fans to choose from. While all packages have FOX, none of the packages include the NFL Network.
DIRECTV STREAM does, however, have a lot of other sports channels. Included in its entry-level Entertainment Package, which has more than 65 channels for $69.99/mo., are ESPN, ESPN 2, FS1, Motortrend, and the NBC Sports Network. The Choice plan, which has more than 90 channels and costs $84.99/mo., also carries the ACC Network, Big 10 Network, ESPNews, ESPNU, MLB Network, NBA TV, SEC Network, Tennis Channel, and TVG. The service also offers a lot of regional sports networks, which are dependent upon your location. And, you can add NBA League Pass Premium for $40/mo. during the season.
DIRECTV STREAM also comes with a 20-hour cloud DVR and the option to choose from premium channels.
Since DIRECTV STREAM does not offer the NFL Network, this is not a good option for Thursday Night Football since there are 8 times throughout the season in which that is the only channel broadcasting the game.
How to Watch Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime
Fans who already have an Amazon Prime] membership will have access to watch all Thursday Night Football games at no additional charge. Amazon Prime can be streamed on smart TVs, mobile devices, game consoles, Blu-Ray players, set-top boxes, and computer browsers.
For fans that do not have an Amazon Prime account, there are 3 ways to sign up. A full Amazon Prime membership, which includes all of the other benefits of Amazon Prime, is either $12.99/mo. or can be paid in a single, lump-sum payment of $119. Alternatively, you can sign up for a Prime Video membership only, which does not have the other benefits that go with the full Amazon Prime account, for $8.99/mo.
Amazon Prime is another great option for fans to watch Thursday Night Football, since every TNF game will be offered through this media. It’s especially beneficial for fans that already have an Amazon Prime account as it won’t cost anything additional to stream the games.
How to Watch Thursday Night Football for Free
With an HD antenna, fans can watch any of the Thursday Night Football games that are broadcast on FOX for free. However, this will not include 8 games that are solely broadcast on the NFL Network.
Additionally, several of the streaming services offer free trials, giving you the possibility of watching a Thursday Night Football Game for free. These include:
- Hulu + Live TV
- YouTube TV
- fuboTV
Video: How To Stream Live NFL Games Without Cable
For more information on streaming NFL games without cable, check out our recent video that walks you through the various options.