The 2024 NFL season is officially underway following the exciting NFL kickoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs that literally was decided by a toe. NFL fans are hoping they are in for just as good a second game, as the league has a special Friday night game for week 1, as the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Green Bay Packers down in São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, September 6, at 8:15 pm ET/PT.
The fact that the game is on a Friday is not the only unique thing about the broadcast, as the streaming platform Peacock is serving as the broadcaster for the game. But do you absolutely need to have Peacock to watch Eagles vs Packers in week 1? Or are there other options available to you?
The game is being billed as exclusive to Peacock, and for most of the country if you want to watch the game on your TV, then yes, you are going to need to have a Peacock subscription to do so. However, there are some caveats to Peacock's exclusivity.
If you live in the greater Green Bay or Philadelphia broadcast areas, then you do not need to have Peacock to watch the game on TV, as the game is going to be available to watch on your local NBC station. In that case, as long as you have a traditional pay-TV setup, a TV antenna or a live TV streaming service (i.e. Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV) that carries NBC, then you can watch the game without adding Peacock.
The other option is NFL Plus. The NFL's own streaming service allows subscribers to watch each of the nationally televised NFL games each week, which for week 1 includes Eagles vs Packers, but the catch is that you can only do so on a mobile device. So if you're OK with watching the game on a phone or tablet, then NFL Plus (which also gives you access to local games, NFL Redzone, game replays and more) is an alternative.
But if neither of those options apply or are of interest to you, then a Peacock subscription is the only way to go. The good news is that you have options when signing up for Peacock. Peacock Premium is an ad-supported tier that includes all live sports that are made available on the streaming service, while Peacock Premium Plus is ad-free and in addition to the sports and on-demand TV and movies, allows you to simulcast your local NBC station live.
Unfortunately, there is no free trial for Peacock at this time, but there are some deals available if you’re looking to sign up for the game. The first offers Peacock Premium for four months at $4.99/month, but the deal ends today, September 6. Also, if you’re a college student, a student discount that would get you a year of Peacock for $1.99/month is available.
Peacock having an exclusive game is not new, as the streamer had two exclusive games during the 2023 NFL season, including a playoff game. But as of right now, this is the only Peacock exclusive NFL game set for the 2024 NFL season. However, Netflix is slated to stream a pair of Christmas Day games later in the season, and Prime Video is expected to be the exclusive home of a playoff game this year.
To find out more about how to watch the NFL this season, check out our guides for the NFL on CBS, NFL on Fox, Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football.
