How much of the NFL season can you catch on your Apple TV?

The NFL is one of the biggest sports in the world, watched by millions from around the globe. And with advancements in technology, it has never been easier to access all the content that is available. From exclusive interviews, to behind the scenes footage from training and during games, to being able to watch live NFL games as well.

And if you have an Apple TV box, you'll be surprised how much of the NFL season you can actually get access to. Although, for much of it, you may have to be based in America as it can often at times be geo-locked to locations. But that's nothing to worry about if you have a VPN to open up your options, as they can easily get around restrictions based on geographical location. And this works for lots of services like Netflix too.

But getting back on track, just how much of the season can you access from Apple TV? Well, almost all of it!

The official NFL app

Your first stop for NFL content on Apple TV is to download the official NFL app. This really took off last season, when the pandemic hit and fans were no longer allowed into stadiums due to health and safety measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19. Sure it wasn't the same without the atmosphere of the crowd, but you could increase the entertainment factor by placing some wagers on the games with some of the best sportsbooks available online, if online gambling is legal in your state.

With the official NFL app, you can stream all nationally televised prime-time games, which are your Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football fixtures, plus three local games per week for free. That's a whole lot of content already. But there is an option for even more if you're willing to pay.

You can upgrade in-app to the NFL Game Pass, which offers a 7-day free trial for a whole bunch more content. You get access to full-game replays of all the regular season and postseason games from the moment their broadcast ends, so it's just like recording on tivo and watching it later on, if you can avoid spoilers of the results. But it offers much more too, from exclusive interviews to specialised programming, and even live radio broadcasts, with a choice of having home or away announcers calling the plays.

Network Apps

Many network providers already have their own apps. So whether you have a package with CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports or NBC Sports, you may be able to get access to these for free, and watch them all from your Apple TV device. If not, there are options to sign up to each provider's app, and from there, you can watch all the games and content they show. This can, if you choose not to go with a cable provider, actually work out as a cheaper way to access sports packages.

Subscription Apps

As well as the official NFL app and Network TV apps, there are a whole bunch of third-party apps available too. Many you may even be subscribed to already. One of the most popular services at the moment is Amazon Prime, who signed a deal with the NFL last season to begin showing many Thursday night football games. And the benefit of their service, is that you can stream these with friends on Twitch to watch together, although they need to be subbed as well. But when you can't meet up with people, this is the next best option.

And as of next season, Amazon Prime will be the exclusive place to watch all Thursday Night Games, after their current simulcast deal ends. But there are lots of other services available too, from the likes of FuboTV and Hulu+, but they again don't get a lot of the local games, more the big nationally televised games you get with the NFL app anyway, so do your research before subbing to find out if the app you're subbing to is right for you.

Sunday Games may soon be exclusive to Apple TV

Whilst the deal isn't there yet, negotiations and bidding is open to broadcasters at the moment for the Sunday Ticket service. And rumours have it that the NFL favors Apple to get the service over the current provider, DirecTV.

But why Apple? Well, DirecTV's parent company AT&T currently shells out around $1.5bn a year for the rights, and they were hoping that it would draw in a whole host of new customers. But sadly, that never happened, even with increased sales seen during the pandemic. It is actually thought that this deal is a loss maker for DirecTV.

But to leave would incur penalty costs from their contract. Fortunately though, their deal ends after next season. And Apple too are looking for ways to get more people to buy their Apple TV devices and Apple TV+ package. But should they learn from AT&T's mistakes? Will it bring in the crowds like Apple hope. Only time will tell.