The leaves are slowly starting to change color and the pre-season is over. Last Thursday, the National Football League officially started its new season. As always, there were a lot of questions. Things like who will dominate the standings and who will make it to the Super Bowl are on people’s minds. How to watch football on Windows 8 is also a topic that comes up a lot.
Watching football on Windows 8 tablets, laptops, and 2-in-1s is just as meaningful on any device. Many single households do not have a television to watch football. Many more users prefer to watch football when they are out and about in their spare time.
Here’s a brief overview of how to watch football on Windows 8 and how each application, each application works.
Watch NFL Football on Windows 8 with NFL on Windows
It probably won’t come as a surprise if the easiest way to watch highlights and review other football footage is a Windows app for Windows made by the NFL itself. Available for free through the Windows Store, NFL in Windows 8 allows users to open multiple tabs, follow games, and follow their favorite teams. Users can even log into the NFL in Windows 8 and set up touchdown notifications every time their favorite team scores.
Video highlights and NFL.com Fantasy Football League integration are free, but users who want to watch all the festivities live will need to sign up for a subscription service. NFL Red Zone or NFL Network itself. To access NFL RedZone, its users need a cable subscription with a provider that works with RedZone. Big names like AT&T U-Verse, Cox, Dish, and Verizon FiOS all partner with NFL RedZone. Unfortunately, Comcast isn’t one of the largest providers in the country. The NFL Network is also directly linked to NFL RedZone, so you will need a cable subscription that supports it for this service as well.
[ Download NFL on Windows 8 from the Windows Store ]
Watch NFL Football Now with NFL on Windows 8
NFL Now is a strange beast. This is another official app available through the Windows Store, but focused heavily on a personalized experience. Users who install the app can keep up with their fantasies, delve deep into the NFL video library for classic movies and enjoy highlights, provided they have a paid subscription.
[ NFL Now on Windows 8 from the Windows Store ]
Watch NFL Football on Windows with the NFL Sunday Ticket
When it comes to football coverage, there is no better way to watch than this. NFL Sunday Ticket. NFL Sunday Ticket apps and services span a wide variety of devices. Traditionally, the service is available to users with the DirecTV satellite service. Here recently, DirecTV has greatly expanded its subscription service. NFL Sunday Ticket apps are now available on iPhone, iPad and Windows 8.
NFL Sunday Ticket for Windows 8 users can watch footage from the NFL Red Zone. They can also stream live video for games not in their hometowns. This means that users in Washington DC cannot watch Redskins games on Windows 8 via NFL Sunday Ticket, but they can watch Denver Broncos games or Pittsburg Steelers games. Statistics and upcoming match schedules are downloaded directly into the app. When there’s a big game to see, NFL Sunday Ticket sends an alert. In theory, it’s truly the best way for users to experience the 2014 NFL Season wherever they are.
Just like any other service, watching live football via NFL Sunday Ticket for Windows 8 on Windows 8 devices takes all sorts of complexity thanks to a required subscription service. Everyone is free to download the NFL Sunday Ticket app, but only subscribers can use the app to watch live matches from out of town.
Users must truly qualify before being allowed to subscribe directly to the NFL Sunday Ticket. More specifically, users are required to live in certain places. Let’s say if you live in a house, you won’t be quality for the NFL Sunday Ticket because the service is for users who can’t put a satellite dish on the roof and sign up for DirecTV. While DirecTV seems to allow major cities like New York and San Francisco, it only wants apartment residents and college students.
There are other details to keep in mind after passing the eligibility requirement. An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription comes in three different forms. NFL Sunday Ticket to Go allows users to stream live on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. It costs $199 for the entire season. There are apps for Android phones and tablets, Windows Phones and tablets, iPhone and iPad. The NFL Sunday Ticket Console allows users to stream live to the video game console of their choice for $239. There are apps for PS4, Xbox One, and PS3, but Xbox 360 users and anyone on a Nintendo console are out of luck.
NFL Sunday Ticket Max combines these packs and ads for $329 in real-time stats. All subscription prices must be paid in full for eligible users at registration. It makes this type of purchase less impulsive buying and more for users to think about beforehand.
[ Download NFL Sunday Ticket from the Windows Store ]
No matter how you choose to watch football in Windows 8, good luck and remember to watch out for the fine print. If your cable provider isn’t among those listed today, it’s also not a bad idea to check each site frequently.
