Preseason NFL games are available on the AFN Now video-on-demand app. The network will air all NFL regular-season games through the Super Bowl on the app this year, either live or 24 to 48 hours after the game. It’s the first time Defense Department personnel and their families overseas will have access to all NFL games in a season for free without a paid subscription to a commercial streaming service or channel. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Service members, military civilians and their families stationed overseas who live and breathe NFL football will get to see every moment of the 2024 season all the way to the Super Bowl on American Forces Network’s free video-on-demand app.
Coverage on AFN Now will be a combination of livestreaming and previously recorded games. And while die-hard fans will probably already know the outcome of tape-delayed broadcasts, all 272 regular-season matchups and the entire postseason will be shown.
Building on the app’s first full season of NFL coverage in 2023, AFN sought to expand access to its most popular content, said Kim Antos, the network’s chief of digital platforms.
“Our team said, ‘I think we could actually get every game, every touchdown, every moment of the whole season,’ ” she said.
For die-hard NFL fans wanting more action, the app is getting ready to roll out additional streaming content provided by the league.
“We were able to work with them on obtaining their NFL Channel,” Antos said.
AFN Now will air all NFL games through the Super Bowl on the app this season, either live or 24 to 48 hours after the game. The AFN app will also offer NFL Channel content. (Jennifer H. Svan/Stars and Stripes)
Most programming on the NFL Channel, which is owned by the league, includes archived games and game footage, Antos said.
“If you’re a football fan, and you want to watch football, it is available to you 24/7,” she said.
The 2024 NFL season kicks off Sept. 5 when the Baltimore Ravens host the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. That game will air live on one of AFN’s three satellite sports channels and will also stream live on the app.
As they do every year, AFN sports programmers select NFL matchups to air live on AFN Sports, AFN Sports 2 and AFN Prime, said Regina Zhu, the network’s chief of television programming.
Broadcast decisions are usually made the week of the game based on team standings, rivalries and other factors, she said.
“Are we going to put the Jacksonville Jaguars up against, say, the Chicago Bears, if they’re playing so well this year?” she said. “We’re looking at … viewer draw, what’s the most sizzle.”
Live or tape-delay games on AFN television will be simulcast on the app, Antos said. Unlike last year, the app will pick up games not shown on AFN television and make them available on demand, as an app-only game, about 24 to 48 hours after the contest ends, she said.
Those games will be available for seven days before the content is refreshed.
“Most of these games are being played at hours that are not convenient to our audience,” she said. “The ability to make that available when they wake up or when they’re able to watch is really what we’re excited about.”
The app will stream the same number of college football games this year, but depending on how the expanded NFL coverage goes, that could change in the future, Antos said.
AFN Now is available free to all Defense Department personnel and their families assigned overseas. Households can stream the app on up to four platforms, including smartphones, computers and television devices such as Roku, Fire TV Stick and Apple TV.
Americans living overseas typically have to pay to subscribe to a commercial app to get NFL games. DAZN, for instance, airs every NFL regular-season and playoff game live and on demand but costs nearly $200 for viewers in Germany, according to its website.
About 64% of AFN users are connected on televisions, Antos said. Viewers who are having trouble connecting should contact the help desk for support.
If viewers are using a VPN with an unauthorized IP address, they’ll be able to access the app, but the content will disappear, since AFN is available only overseas, Antos said. If that happens, it’s best to turn off the VPN and try again in about 15 minutes, she said.
Two years since its launch, the app is now on more than 71,000 mobile devices worldwide, AFN spokesman John Clearwater said.
