NFL fans’ 2025 bills come under focus as FCC probes the rise of sports streaming services
It is becoming quite a cost to watch the NFL today, and the FCC is trying to ease the pain.
The FCC on Wednesday announced it would seek public comments on the ongoing shift of live sports from broadcast channels to streaming services. The move comes as the NFL, NBA, MLB and other major sports have moved many games from broadcast and cable television to streaming services.
The sports leagues have cashed in on the pivot to streaming, with the NFL landing a $1 billion a year to air Thursday Night Football on Amazon as a key example. The Sports Broadcasting Act exemption passed in 1961 applies only to broadcast television. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other mediums, including cable, satellite and streaming. The Sports Broadcasting Act includes a rule allowing blackouts of local games, which still applies to out-of-market packages sold by the leagues.
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Thursday night NFL games are broadcast exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, while Netflix recently became the home of Christmas games. Those without cable, or fans of an out-of-town team, have to purchase NFL Sunday Ticket. Without cable, NBC’s "Sunday Night Football" on Peacock and ESPN's streaming service for "Monday Night Football" are also necessary to complete the go-around.
To catch all the action throughout the 2025 season, fans had to fork over at least $575, and some nearly $800. Here's a breakdown of the average costs.
For Sunday Ticket in 2025, new subscribers had to pay $276 for the season. Existing users, however, needed to pay $378 if they already had a YouTube TV membership, or $480 without it.
Now that the 1:00 and 4:00 games are covered, we will move to primetime.
Those Netflix games on Christmas Day cost $7.99 for the cheapest subscription, which were, and are, able to be canceled right away. ESPN's new streaming service only includes live sports if you paid for the $29.99 version, and for "Sunday Night Football," you had to sign up for Peacock's "Premium" membership, which is $10.99 monthly. Fans needed Peacock and ESPN for five months to catch all the Sunday and Monday night games (you'll need six months of ESPN this year, since they will broadcast the Super Bowl). If you wanted to get in on the normally-horrid Thursday nighters, which end in December, Amazon Prime's cheapest option to get you football is $8.99 monthly. Amazon Prime also includes the Black Friday game.
Oh, and those international games that are only on the NFL Network need to be watched with an NFL+ membership that is $6.99 per month, and said games were from September to November.
In total, ESPN cost $179.94, Peacock was $54.95, Amazon Prime Video was $35.96, and NFL+ was $20.97. Add it all up for new Sunday Ticket subscribers, and we get that streaming the 2025 NFL season costs those fans $575.81. If you were an existing Sunday Ticket subscriber without YouTube TV, it cost $779.81.
"Sports viewing costs fans more and the quality of the viewing experience is worse than it was a decade ago, maybe even two decades ago. That’s a bad combination. I’m in favor of anything that gives sports fans more choice and is less expensive," OutKick founder Clay Travis said.
The price for 2026 will be similar.
As of now, the Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, ESPN, and Netflix memberships all remain the same price. The 2026 Sunday Ticket is available for purchase, and up until mid-March, limited-time offers are available. The whole season on Sunday Ticket is currently $192 for new subscribers who sign up through YouTube TV, which is currently $59.99 for your first two months and $82.99 beyond. If you do not want to sign up through YouTube TV, it currently stands at $240. The prices after the limited-time offer are not yet known, but the prices for existing customers are the same as last year.
NFL RedZone can be added for $42 for the season, or you can purchase it on its own for $10.99 per month.
But no need to worry about the newfound Brazil game, which is on YouTube for free.
Fox News' Brian Flood and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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