Football season is right around the corner. If you don’t have a streaming service, you’re not out of luck. You can still watch your favorite games — and it gets even better. You won’t even have to pay any monthly subscription fees.
With over-the-air (OTA) TV, you can pick up a clear picture of sports games on broadcast networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. To get started, you’ll need to pair a TV with an antenna. (Use this handy guide to help you determine which antenna to buy). After this one-time initial cost, you won’t need to pay any additional fees. This is a cost-effective way to access sports, tv shows and more. Best of all, when you watch sports with OTA TV, you don’t need to worry about pesky blackout restrictions.
Sports To Watch With OTA TV
Football
In most markets, NFL games are aired on ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC, including the playoffs. The 2024 Super Bowl will be shown on CBS, but that won’t be the case for 2025. (The big game rotates among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.) College football games can usually be found on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.
Luckily, football isn’t the only kind of game broadcast on the major networks. From regular-season games to playoffs, you can find everything from baseball to tennis on OTA TV year-round. You just have to know what channels to flip to.
Tennis
No matter if you favor Roger Federer or Serena Williams, you can find French Open matches in the spring on NBC.
Soccer
To watch Premier League games, go to NBC.
Basketball
Most NBA games, plus the NBA finals, can be found on ABC. Some NCAA Men’s Basketball games are shown on Fox or CBS.
Baseball
MLB games can be found on Fox.
Horse racing
For big races like the Triple Crown and the Kentucky Derby, check NBC for details.
Nascar
Fox and NBC are the two big networks that broadcast NASCAR games.
It’s important for sports fans to know that there are options when it comes to watching games and some of them don’t cost much money at all. If you’re thinking OTA TV might be right for you, why not give it a try?
Games aren’t the only special programming options that OTA viewers have access to. From political debates to the Olympic Games, there’s always something exciting to catch on TV. You can watch these events live or you can pick up a DVR like Tablo to record them to view later.
