The Super Bowl is the undisputed highlight of every NFL season in the USA and is also internationally regarded as one of the biggest sporting events of the year. But real fans naturally want to see all the games in the US professional league all year round. TECHBOOK explains where this is possible in Germany.
Although football is still the undisputed number one of the most popular professional sports in Germany, US sports in particular are catching up. Right at the forefront: US football. The Super Bowl fever is also spreading in this country. Thanks to versatile sports, international superstars like Tom Brady and spectacular halftime shows with star casts from Beyoncé to Eminem. In addition to the actual highlight, NFL games run throughout the year. You don’t always need a streaming or pay TV subscription.
Streaming services showing NFL games
American football has a certain tradition in Germany, not least because of the soldiers stationed here after World War II. As early as the 1980s and 1990s, NFL teams played games in Germany, but not during the regular season. Since 2012, the hype about the sport has increased noticeably, which is partly due to the regular television broadcast. In the meantime, several streaming services also offer extensive live streams.
DAZN
The streaming service DAZN shows all prime time games in the regular season. This means the live transmissions on the night of Friday (2:20 a.m.), Monday (2:20 a.m.) and Tuesday (2:15 a.m.). There are also 17 individual games at the early kick-off time on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. The NFL season is probably a bit unusual for Germany, as it begins on September 8, 2022 and ends on January 8, 2023. This will be followed by the so-called post-season with the wildcard round in the playoffs from January 14, 2023. There is also access to the so-called RedZone via DAZN. There you can see, among other things, long highlight summaries of each game week.
A DAZN subscription is therefore particularly interesting if you want to see regular NFL games outside of the Super Bowl. In the monthly terminable version, DAZN costs 29.99 euros. If you sign up for a whole year, you pay EUR 24.99 (for monthly payments) or EUR 274.99 for a one-time payment.
Also read: Who is DAZN worthwhile for?
The NFL Game Pass
Interesting for real NFL fans is also – or even above all – the Game Pass. This is available in the variants Free, Pro (17.99 euros annual subscription) or Mobile Only (15.99 euros annual subscription). Included is, among other things, the NFL Draft 2022 in Relieve and the first round of the NFL Draft compact in 40 minutes. There is also 24/7 live access to the NFL network, the entire NFL Sunday in 60 minutes and preliminary reports on the games. Depending on the paid option you choose, you get additional access to regular season and playoff highlights as well as full games in Relive.
Also included are so-called NFL Originals. This includes well-known formats such as “NFL Hard Knocks” and other in-depth content on the subject of American football.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon has already shown individual games on its streaming service in the past. From the 2022 season, all games that run on Thursday nights – so-called Thursday Night Games – can be seen exclusively there. This affects 15 games in the coming season. The contract between Amazon and the NFL is provisionally valid until 2032 and costs the shipping giant a whopping $1.2 billion a year.
A Prime subscription costs EUR 7.99 per month and EUR 69 per year. Students and trainees pay nothing in the first year and from the second then 34 euros for 12 months.
Also interesting: The best streaming services for sports fans
Free NFL games on TV
There are also ways to watch NFL games online and on Free TV for free. In Germany, certain games are streamed live on ran.de as well as ProSieben and ProSieben MAXX. So far, this has also affected the Super Bowl including the pre-game show. In the past, the pre-reporting was traditionally on ProSieben MAXX, followed by the live broadcast all night long on ProSieben.
In any case, it is certain that ProSieben definitely has the NFL broadcasting rights until the 2022/23 season. However, since the broadcasting group is enjoying great success with US sports, there is likely to be interest in a long-term cooperation with the league.
As much NFL as possible in the stream
In contrast to the Bundesliga, Champions League or Premier League, there is a lot of content in the NFL for free, including the absolute highlight of the season with the Super Bowl. However, it will be interesting to see whether this will remain the case in the future. Especially with the Super Bowl, streaming services like DAZN could certainly generate additional income. If you take a look at the ratings, American football seems to be firmly established in the German television and streaming landscape.
The interest of the league itself has only just been reinforced by hosting a regular-season game in Germany for the first time. As a counterpart to the London Games, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers around star quarterback Tom Brady will play against the German fan favourite, the Seattle Seahawks, on November 13, 2022 in Munich’s Allianz Arena.
And for real football fans, the European League of Football (ELF) has been running since 2021. ran is also responsible for the transmission, so that the games run on television and live stream.
Sources