Editor's Note: This story comes from CableTV.com.
The holiday season means a few things, including mistletoe, hot cocoa, and Christmas football games. Whether you’re a college football fan ready for bowl season or an NFL fanatic eyeing the playoffs, this time of year brings plenty of gridiron excitement.
Football is the perfect backdrop for festive gatherings. That’s why we created this watch guide, so you can plan the final days of December around your favorite teams.
Here’s everything you need to know about watching football on Christmas.
NFL Christmas games
This year, Christmas Day falls on a Wednesday. It’s an unusual day for NFL action, but fans will get a steady lineup of quality games with playoff and postseason implications.
Between the end of Week 16 and the start of Week 17, you’ll see a Saints-Packers matchup on Dec. 23.
There are no NFL games on Christmas Eve this season, so rest up because Christmas Day delivers the goods with the Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans on Netflix. Then, there’s a “Thursday Night Football” clash between the Seahawks and Bears on Dec. 26.
NFL Christmas schedule
Here’s a list of holiday games, with times (ET) and channels:
- New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers: Monday, Dec. 23 at 8:15 p.m. — ESPN, ABC, ESPN Deportes
- Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers: Wednesday, Dec. 25 at 1:00 p.m. — Netflix
- Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans: Wednesday, Dec. 25 at 4:30 p.m. — Netflix
- Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears: Thursday, Dec. 26 at 8:15 p.m. — Amazon Prime Video
Data effective as of post date.
How to watch NFL games on Christmas for free
- Recommended antenna: Mohu Leaf 50 (one-time purchase)
- NFL channels: ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC
- Features: All local broadcast channels
There’s no way to watch this year’s two NFL Christmas Day games for free, as they’re streaming exclusively on Netflix with no free trial access. The Dec. 26 game is also a streaming exclusive on Amazon Prime Video. Bah humbug!
Fortunately, all other NFL games throughout Christmas week will air on traditional channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC. If you don’t have a TV streaming plan, you can still get these channels for free with an over-the-air (OTA) antenna like the Mohu Leaf 50.
Additionally, streaming services like Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM offer free trials, which can be a quick way to stream the games.
College football Christmas games
For college football fans, the Christmas bowl schedule falls in the sweet spot between the early bowl season and the College Football Playoff.
For Christmas week, fans will get a handful of great major-conference matchups between various SEC, Big Ten, AAC, MAC, and Conference USA teams.
College football Christmas schedule
Here are the college Christmas bowl games, days, times (ET). All games are on ESPN.
- Myrtle Beach Bowl: Monday, Dec. 23 at 11:00 a.m.
- Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Monday, Dec. 23 at 2:30 p.m.
- Hawaii Bowl: Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 8:00 p.m.
- Detroit Bowl: Thursday, Dec. 26 at 2:00 p.m.
- Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Thursday, Dec. 26 at 5:30 p.m.
- 68 Ventures Bowl: Thursday, Dec. 26 at 9:00 p.m.
- Birmingham Bowl: Friday, Dec. 27 at noon or 3:30 p.m.
- Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Friday, Dec. 27 at noon or 3:30 p.m.
- AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Friday, Dec. 27 at 7:00 p.m.
- SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Friday, Dec. 27 at 10:30 p.m.
Data effective as of post date.
How to watch college football at Christmas for free
ABC will air a handful of college football bowl games, just not during Christmas week.
You’ll be set if you already have a cable or streaming TV subscription or an OTA antenna. But you’ll need to do some more legwork if you want to watch every college bowl game because ESPN airs most college football bowl games, and it’s not available with an OTA antenna.
If you want to watch college football at Christmas for free, we recommend Fubo’s seven-day free trial.
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