Roger Fingas
If you're a football fan looking to catch the Rams play the Patriots for the trophy on Feb. 3, there are a few options for watching on Apple devices without firing up a Web browser.
One of the most obvious methods is the official NFL app. You can watch the Super Bowl for free on an iPhone or iPad — the catch is that you can't use AirPlay, HDMI, or Google Cast to watch on a TV, even if you have NFL Game Pass or an authenticated cable/satellite subscription.
A better choice may be the CBS Sports app, which is streaming the game for free on iPhones, iPads, and the Apple TV.
There are a variety of internet-based TV services with iOS and Apple TV apps too, often cheaper than paying for a cable or satellite package. The first trick is finding the channel bundle you need, since not even CBS is available on every service. Some that do meet the criteria include PlayStation Vue, YouTube TV, and Hulu with Live TV. Expect to pay at least $40 per month for a regular subscription.
If you play your cards right though, you may not have to pay for these either. The industry standard is to offer a free one-week trial — as long as you haven't signed up to a service before, you can start a trial on gameday and cancel before the week is out.
The Super Bowl kicks off Sunday, Feb. 3, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, 3:30 p.m. Pacific. The game will be played from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Where to buy gear before the big game
Deals on home theater equipment and mobile devices are going on now before Super Bowl Sunday. Here's a sampling of the top bargains, with even more markdowns available in our Apple Price Guide.
Super Bowl savings
- 2018 iPads: On sale from $299
- Apple TV 4K: Discounted to $169
- 4K HDTVs: As low as $229
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
Andrew Orr
6 Comments
Is the super bowl being streamed in 4K this year anywhere?
I simply do not understand why content providers have such a tight rein on live sporting events. In most cases they are fine with over the air broadcasts which are (sort of) free for everyone to view with very few restrictions. But the moment that you want to watch it online or with a device different than a TV you have to pay for it AND watch advertising. I fully understand that they want the broadcast to be received without any interference; i.e.: bad for them if some pirate rebroadcaster puts their own ads in place of the ones desired by the network. By allowing viewership without paying for a subscription they increase the number of eyeballs watching it and thus increase their ad revenue. And unlike OTA or even many cable broadcasts, online viewing using the appropriate apps or websites can track the number of devices tuned into the broadcast.
And one more thing -- big sports events like the Super Bowl get a much lower percentage of views from a recorded stream compared to live. The results of the Super Bowl are almost impossible to avoid in the US after the event, and who wants to watch a sports event that they already know the outcome to? For me, just knowing that a sports event is over and the result has been decided already spoils it and makes viewing it later -- even if I don't know the outcome yet -- much less enjoyable.