Viewing guide
NFL game day guide: kickoff slots, networks and what to open when
By the MethStreams editors · Published
The NFL schedule looks busy, but it follows the same pattern almost every week. Once you know the slots, you always know roughly when to open a game and which network to look for. This guide covers that pattern and how our NFL page fits into it.
The slots in a normal week
Thursday has one night game. Sunday has the bulk: a big early group of games in the afternoon on the East Coast, a smaller late group a few hours after that, and one game in the evening. Monday ends the week with a night game. In a recent week we checked, the Thursday game was on Prime Video, the Sunday afternoon games were shared by FOX and CBS, the Sunday night game was on NBC and the Monday game was on ESPN.
Start times on MethStreams always show in the time zone set on your device, so you never have to work out the gap between Eastern time and wherever you are. A fan in London and a fan in Denver see different clock times for the same kickoff, and both are right.
How CBS and FOX divide Sunday
The two networks share the Sunday afternoon games. Each local station then picks which game to air in its own area, usually the nearest team. This is why someone in Chicago and someone in Dallas can both be watching FOX at the same moment and see different games.
If the game you want is not on your local station, it is out of your market. That is the most common reason fans go looking for a stream on a Sunday.
Prime time is easier
The Thursday, Sunday night and Monday games are national. Everyone in the US gets the same game on the same network, so there is no market problem. These are also the games that tend to get stream links soonest on our pages, often well before kickoff.
Using a game page
Each game on the NFL page opens its own page. At the top you get both teams, the kickoff time and the venue. Below that are as many as three links. The top link is the one we think will last, and the others are usually separate broadcasts or backups.
A few practical habits help:
- Open the page ten or fifteen minutes before kickoff. Links can still be added in the last hour.
- If a link buffers more than once, go back and try the next one instead of waiting.
- Shut any other tab with video running, especially on a phone.
When games move
Later in the year, the league is allowed to flex a Sunday game into or out of the night slot. Weather rarely moves an NFL game, but it has happened. Our schedule is rebuilt every minute from the current listings, so a change shows up on the page soon after the league announces it.
The playoffs
From January the NFL page follows the playoff rounds in order: Wild Card weekend, the Divisional round, the two conference championships and then the Super Bowl. Playoff games are national broadcasts, so like prime-time games they do not have the market problem.
If nothing loads
Give it two or three minutes and refresh the game page, because links keep getting added once play is under way. A black player often means that particular host blocks your VPN address, so swap to another server or switch the VPN off just for that tab. The stalled stream checklist has the full routine.
Quick answers
Which channels show NFL games in the US?
In a normal week the games are on FOX, CBS, ESPN, NBC and Prime Video. Which one has your game depends on the day and the time slot.
Why can't I see my team's Sunday game on local TV?
CBS and FOX stations each choose the afternoon game for their own area, so a game outside your market may not be on your local channel.
When do stream links show up for an NFL game?
Most game pages on MethStreams get their links about an hour before kickoff. Prime-time games often get them earlier.
