Alright, let’s talk about NFL Sunday Ticket and those preseason games. Every year, around late summer, I get that itch. You know, the football itch. Starts getting cooler, leaves think about changing, and my mind goes straight to Sundays on the couch.
So, a couple of seasons back, I was thinking about getting Sunday Ticket again. Had it before with DirecTV, then YouTube TV picked it up. Prices change, packages change, it’s always something. But the main thing I wanted was all the football I could get, especially for my team since I don’t live in their local market.
My Quest for Preseason Clarity
Now, here’s where I got tangled up. Preseason starts, and you’re desperate for any football action, right? Even if it’s just watching rookies try to make the team. I figured, hey, I’m paying top dollar for this Sunday Ticket thing, surely it covers everything? Seemed logical to me.
So, I started digging. First place, the main website where they sell the package. Lots of fancy marketing talk, “every live out-of-market game, every Sunday afternoon.” Keywords there: “out-of-market” and “Sunday afternoon”. Preseason games aren’t always on Sunday afternoon, they’re scattered throughout the week. That was my first clue.
I tried looking through the FAQs and the fine print. Man, they make that stuff dense. It felt like reading a legal document just to figure out if I could watch a glorified scrimmage.
Here’s what I did next:
- Scoured forums online. Lots of people asking the same thing, mixed answers. Some said yes, some said no, some said “use a different service”. Not super helpful.
- Tried to remember from past years. Honestly, it all blends together. Did I watch preseason on it before, or was that NFL Network, or maybe just local channels? My memory failed me.
- I even tried their customer support chat. Got a bot first, which was useless. Then waited forever for a real person. They basically read the website description back to me, emphasizing the “regular season” part.
The Hard Truth I Found
After all that running around, virtually speaking, I landed on the answer. And it wasn’t the one I wanted.
No, NFL Sunday Ticket does not typically cover preseason games.
Its whole deal is about the regular season Sunday afternoon games that aren’t shown on your local channels (CBS/FOX). Preseason games? They’re broadcast differently. Some are on NFL Network, some on ESPN, some on local affiliate stations (which you might get over the air or through your cable/streaming provider), and sometimes teams stream them on their own websites if you’re local.
It was a bit annoying, I won’t lie. You pay all this money for the premium NFL package, and it doesn’t even include the warm-up acts. It felt like buying a concert ticket but having to pay extra to watch the opening band. But hey, that’s how they’ve set it up. So, if you’re like me and jonesing for preseason action, you gotta look elsewhere. Sunday Ticket kicks in later, for the main event.
