As has been fully expected, the National Football League officially launched its exclusive video streaming service NFL+ today. This launch gives access to live local and primetime NFL games, and it launches just a couple of weeks ahead of the start of the 2022 preseason. This also coincides with the start of training camp, which is an exciting time for NFL fans with the season less than two months away.
NFL+ will be available in the NFL App (the mobile app) and on NFL.com starting at $4.99 per month. The official press release from the league reads in part:
NFL+ – the National Football League’s exclusive video streaming subscription service – officially launches TODAY.
With NFL+, fans can take their game on the go. NFL+ offers access to live out-of-market preseason games, live local and primetime regular season and postseason games (phone and tablet only), live local and national audio for every game, NFL Network shows on-demand, NFL Films archives and more.
“Today marks an important day in the history of the National Football League with the launch of NFL+,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “The passionate and dedicated football fans are the lifeblood of the NFL, and being able to reach and interact with them across multiple platforms is incredibly important to us. We look forward to continuing to grow NFL+ and deepening our relationship with fans across all ages and demographics, providing them access to a tremendous amount of NFL content, including the most valuable content in the media industry: live NFL games.”
Additionally, the arrival of NFL+ means the end of NFL Game Pass. Instead, fans can access full game replays and All-22 coaches film via NFL+ Premium, which costs $9.99/month or $79.99/year. Here’s the NFL’s breakdown of NFL+ and NFL+ Premium:
NFL+
- Live local and primetime games on mobile and tablet devices
- Live out-of-market preseason games across all devices
- Live game audio (home, away and national calls) for every game of the season
- NFL library programming on-demand (ad-free)
- $4.99/month or $39.99/year
NFL+ Premium (includes features of product formerly known as NFL Game Pass)
- All features of NFL+
- Full game replays across devices (ad-free)
- Condensed game replays across devices (ad-free)
- Coaches Film including All-22 (ad-free)
- $9.99/month or $79.99/year
Clearly, NFL+ is a potential alternative to cable for fans that might mostly just want to watch their own teams. But there will be plenty of content including every preseason game throughout the summer.
There have been talks about a minority stake (49 percent) in NFL Media being available to potential bidders like Amazon and Apple, but this move might indicate the NFL is moving off that. NFL Sunday Ticket, which has been on DirecTV for years, will have a new home starting in 2023.