​How to stream the 2018 Super Bowl

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Will Tom Brady triumph once more? Will the millions of football fans who can’t stand the New England Patriots and rooting the Philadelphia Eagles on to victory in Super Bowl LII rejoice in an upset victory? We’ll all find out on the evening of Feb. 4, 2017. But, how will you watch it?

If you have a lot of money, you can go yourself. Tickets are going for only around $3,500 at the moment. Of course, if you’re still using cable or satellite for your TV, you already know how to watch. But, if you’re a cord cutter, it gets more interesting.

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Over the air

For the very best television quality, you want an antenna. Over-the-air (OTA) streaming is the only way you’ll get uncompressed 1080p high-definition video. NBC will be recording the game in 4K video, but none of the big four networks are showing sporting events in 4K yet.

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NBC Sports

For this big game, NBC Sports will have blanket coverage of Super Bowl LII throughout Feb. 4, culminating with the big game broadcast, which will start at 6pm EST. You can watch the game on NBC, or you can stream it on NBCSports.com. NBCSports.com has full coverage of the lead-up events as well as the game stream with all the Super Bowl ads.

If you want to watch the game on a computer, NBC said that any up-to-date major browser on macOS or Windows will show the game. Linux isn’t listed as a supported operating system. However, in my experience, you can watch NBCSports.com on Linux using Chrome. You will also need an up-to-date version of Adobe Flash.

But there’s a ‘gotcha’ for cord cutters: If you want to stream the contest from NBCSports.com, you must have a cable or satellite subscription. That rather defeats the purpose of cord-cutting! There’s a chance that NBC will allow you to watch without a subscription, as it did in 2015, but I wouldn’t count on it.

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‘Skinny’ TV streaming services

Fortunately, there are ways around this obstacle. Many “skinny” TV streaming services offer NBC Sports in their bundles. These services include DirecTV Now, Fubo TV, Hulu with Live TV, Playstation Vue, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.

Don’t assume, though, you can watch the big game on these networks. You must double-check that NBC is available in your area on DirecTV Now, Hulu, and YouTube TV. On PlayStation Vue, you must first add the NBC Sports app before you’ll be able to watch the game. Finally, on Sling TV, you must subscribe to Sling Blue to get the game.

You can use any streaming device — like Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox, or Roku, etc., — that supports these services to watch the game.

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NFL Mobile app and Yahoo Sports app

You can also watch the game on your smartphone or tablet. Verizon will stream Super Bowl LII via its NFL Mobile app, which is available on Android, Apple iOS, and even Windows Mobile. You will also be able to watch the game on Verizon’s Yahoo Sports app. This program is available on Android and iOS.

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NFL Game Pass

If you’re stuck at work or fast asleep during the game, you can watch a replay of the Super Bowl with NFL Game Pass. This service costs $49.99 for a season, but it does come with a free trial, which may be all you need.

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BBC

Finally, you should be able watch the Super Bowl for free from the BBC by connecting to a UK server through a virtual private network (VPN), such as ExpressVPN or any other VPN that supports UK sites.

Enjoy the game!

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