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Monday Night Football is back with a must-watch matchup! The New York Jets face the San Francisco 49ers for MNF‘s season debut on Monday (Sept. 9).
The 49ers are set to host the Jets at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco on Monday. The game will air on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
Boys II Men are reportedly singing the National Anthem ahead of the Jets vs. 49ers game at Levi’s Stadium.
For the football fans who want to watch the 49ers and Giants face off in person, there’s still time to score tickets at an affordable price. The cheapest tickets for the game are currently priced from around $140 and up at StubHub.
Read on for a schedule of upcoming games, plus ways to watch and stream live and on-demand (with and without cable).
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How to Stream Monday Night Football on ABC
Good news for fans who don’t have cable: MNF has expanded into network TV! ABC will simulcast select games this season, as the network announced last September, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Tonight’s 49ers vs. Jets game will simulcast on ABC along with upcoming double headers including the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders vs. Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 23.
This season’s doubleheaders included games between the Tennessee Titans vs. Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks vs. Detroit Lions on Sept. 30. Tonight’s Jets vs. 49ers game will be the first simultaneous broadcast of the season. As with all MNF games, kickoff will start at 8:15 p.m. ET/5:15 p.m. PT across ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.
Certain MNF games will also broadcast on ESPN, ABC and ESPN+. If you have access to ESPN, you can watch every MNF game live.
How do you watch football games and other sports for free? DirecTV Stream no longer offers ESPN and ABC due to an ongoing dispute with Disney, but for customers looking for streaming alternatives, Fubo, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV are some of the streamers that provide instant access to ABC, ESPN and other channels.
There are also several other affordable ways to watch local channels like ABC, NBC and CBS. For example, you can buy an HDTV antenna like this one on sale at Amazon for $24 (free shipping for Prime members), or subscribe to streamers such as FuboTV and Sling TV.
For around $20-$75, you’ll get to stream live TV and on-demand content, including sports channels and DVR storage. And now that the football season has officially arrived, many of your favorite streamers are offering streaming deals for the NFL season and beyond.
For example, you’ll get a free trial with Fubo to watch your favorite football games for free for up to a week and a discount at sign up.
Looking for more streaming deals? Sling TV is half off for your first month. That means you can subscribe and stream all TV shows, movies, football games and other sports content starting at just $20 for the first month — but only for a limited time. One of Sling’s best streaming deals is the Orange & Blue packages and the Sports Extra bundle for $199 when you prepay four months in advance.
Looking for another affordable option? Subscribe to Fubo and save $30 off your first month.
Fubo’s streaming plans start at $49.99/month (reg. $79.99) after a week free. Fubo Pro, one of the cheapest among the aforementioned streaming plans, includes 202 channels, 1000 hours of Cloud DVR and streaming on up to 10 screens. Fubo Elite is currently discounted to $69.99/month (reg. $99.99/month) for 301 channels and Fubo Premier is $79.99/month (reg. 109.99/month) for 322 channels, 4K streaming, Showtime and more. For Spanish speakers, Fubo Latino is $19.99/month (reg. $32.99/month) to stream 61 channels.
Between free trials and discounted streaming plans, DirecTV has one of the best streaming deals for football fans but without ABC and ESPN, sports fans are looking for different ways to stream. In the event that DirecTV and Disney reach a deal, sports lovers will be able to stream MNF again. In the meantime, DirecTV Stream offers other channels that broadcast football including Fox, CBS and NBC.
Depending on which package you choose, DirecTV’s streaming plans lets you access specialty channels like Big Ten Network, ACC, SEC, MLB Network, CBS Sports Network, Starz, Encore, Max, Ion, NHL Network and more.
You can also watch NFL games on YouTube TV and NFL+, the latter starts at $6.99/month for the base subscription and $14.99/month for NLF+ Premium.
With NFL+, football fans can watch or listen to games live and on-demand, plus enjoy recaps and more.
How to Watch Monday Night Football Games on ESPN+
Gone are the days of simply switching channels to catch all of your favorite NFL games, and it can be hard to keep track of which games are streaming on which platforms. For example, Prime Video is the streaming home for Thursday Night Football, while Sunday football games are available on NBC, CBS, Paramount+ and Peacock, and some Monday Night Football games are scheduled to simulcast on ESPN+ and ABC such as tonight’s Jets vs. 49ers MNF kickoff.
With ESPN+, you’ll get access to football and more for $10.99 a month (or bundle with Disney+ and Hulu). Watch the NFL, college football, soccer, MLB, NBA, NHL, UFC, PGA Tour, Top Rank, PLL Playoffs, Premiere League, La Liga, cricket and other sporting events on ESPN+.
What else can you stream on ESPN+? Sports lovers can binge dozens of must-watch series and TV shows, and original content such as PPV fights, the entire 30 for 30 series and tons of other exclusives such as In the Arena: Serena Williams, The Captain, Tom Brady: Man in the Arena, Al Davis vs. The NFL, Vick, Be Like Water, Breakaway, More Than An Athlete with Michael Strahan, Eli’s Place, Abby’s Place, The Place’s Universe, Why Not Us: Grambling Dance and Our Time Baylor Basketball.
ESPN+ isn’t on sale right now, but you can subscribe to the annual plan ($109.99) can save your around $22 off the $10.99 monthly price. Also, Hulu offers a student discount for just $1.99/month and bundle deals allow you to save on streaming packages. For example, the Disney+ Trio Bundle includes Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ for $14.99/month.
Keep in mind, while there are different ways to watch football games from your TV, phone, laptop or computer, the price will vary depending on the platform. Fortunately, ESPN is available on several streamers including Fubo, Sling and Hulu + Live TV.
Hulu + Live TV gives you access to 90+ channels in edition to ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+, and DVR storage, for $76.99/month. And there’s a free trial for three days, plus eligible customers will get $30 back if you act fast. The limited offer ends on Wednesday.
Monday Night Football: Games, Dates & Time
Monday Night Football kicked off on Sept. 9 and will continue into January 2025. Last year’s MNF kickoff games between the Jets and Buffalo Bills drew a record-breaking 22.6 million viewers, making it the most watched MNF game in history beating out the previous record-holder, a 2009’s game between the Packers and Vikings.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Philadelphia Eagles’ win over the Chiefs (21-17) last November drew a record 29 million viewers in total, a 27-year ratings high and the highest numbers of the season for a single game since the Super Bowl.
Tonight’s game launches the MNF season of single games and doubleheaders. However, some doubleheaders, will broadcast around the same time. That means football fans will be flipping channels during MNF and if you don’t have cable, you can watch and record both games under the streaming plans with Fubo and other streaming plans mentioned above.
Want to watch MNF from anywhere? Even if you don’t have cable, there are plenty of ways to watch NFL games without spending your entire paycheck. To make the process a little easier, we put together some of the better options for MNF and other NFL games.
Beyond the game itself, NFL ratings have received a boost thanks in part to Taylor Swift who appeared at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens season kickoff last week, and has been showing support for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Swift has been spotted cheering on Kelce at several home games including the Super Bowl.
NFL ratings hit another high mark last Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and Commanders snagged a whopping 44 million viewers, the third-largest audience for a regular season game in history. The game aired on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
The Cowboys beat the Commanders 45-10. The NFL team is no stranger to Thanksgiving games as the Cowboys have played a game on Thanksgiving day nearly every year since 1966.
Will the new season score big in ratings? We’ll have to wait and see, but fans who want to watch games live, either from home or on-the-go, can easily stream select NFL games and more on ESPN+.
MNF sound a bit different this season. That’s because ESPN enlisted the help of J Balvin to curate the music for select games. Chris Stapleton, Timbaland and Justin Timberlake curated the music for last year’s games, preceded by Marshmello in 2022, Drake in 2021, DJ Khaled in 2020 and Diplo in 2019.
To kick off the collaboration, the NFL will debut a remix of Balvin’s song “DOBLEXXO” featuring Feid from his new album Rayo.
“ESPN’s Music curation program with Monday Night Football continues with an artist that will amplify the bold and new music strategy,” said Curtis Friends, ESPN vice president of sports marketing. “J Balvin is a global icon whose influence hits with diverse cultures and genres. His music choices embrace the anticipation and excitement the ESPN football season offers, and we can’t wait for him to come along the season-long ride with us.”
With the season is just getting started, there are a ton of games left on the MNF schedule, and plenty of opportunities to watch them live. Click here to get tickets to see your favorite NFL games in person.
Want to stream MNF from outside of the U.S.? With ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN you can access several streaming platforms and channels.
See the full 2024 MNF schedule here.
