Look, figuring out how to watch Monday Night Football used to be simple. You turned on the TV, flipped to ABC or ESPN, and cracked a beer. Now? It feels like you need a PhD in streaming services and a spreadsheet just to find out which app owns the rights to a Week 14 matchup. It’s messy. Between the "Doubleheaders" where games are split across different networks and the exclusive ESPN+ windows, fans are getting frustrated. Honestly, it’s understandable.
The NFL is a money-making machine, and that means the broadcasting rights are sliced thinner than deli meat. If you want to catch the Joe Buck and Troy Aikman broadcast every week, you’ve got to be strategic. You don't necessarily need a $100 cable bill anymore, but you do need a plan.
The ESPN and ABC Tug-of-War
Most weeks, your destination is ESPN. That’s the flagship home for Monday nights. But here’s where it gets weird: Disney (which owns ESPN) has been leaning heavily into "simulcasting" on ABC lately.
Why? Because the ratings on broadcast TV are massive compared to cable. During the 2023-2024 season, the NFL and Disney expanded the number of games appearing on ABC to help fill gaps left by the Hollywood strikes, and fans loved it. For 2025 and 2026, expect a mix. Some weeks, the game is only on ESPN. Other weeks, it’s on ABC and ESPN simultaneously. If you have an old-school over-the-air antenna, you can pull in those ABC games for free. It’s probably the best-kept secret in cord-cutting. Buy a $25 leaf antenna, stick it to your window, and boom—high-definition football with zero monthly fees.
But don't get too comfortable.
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Sometimes they run two games at once. This is the "Monday Night Football Doubleheader." One game might start at 7:15 PM ET on ESPN, and another kicks off at 8:15 PM ET on ABC. If you want to see both, you basically need a multi-view setup or a very fast thumb on the remote.
Streaming Is the New Cable
If you've ditched the satellite dish, you’re looking at Live TV Streaming Services (vMVPDs). This is basically cable but over the internet.
- YouTube TV: Probably the most popular choice for NFL junkies right now. It has ESPN and your local ABC affiliate. The "Key Plays" feature is actually pretty cool—if you join the game late, it shows you a quick montage of the touchdowns and turnovers you missed before jumping into the live feed.
- Fubo: These guys market themselves specifically to sports fans. They have ESPN and ABC, but they also include the NFL Network, which is handy for those random Saturday games later in the season.
- Hulu + Live TV: You get the live channels, plus you get the Disney Bundle (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+) included in the price. If you were going to pay for those anyway, the math starts to make sense.
- Sling TV: This is the budget option. The "Sling Orange" package includes ESPN. It’s significantly cheaper than YouTube TV, but there’s a catch. You usually don’t get local channels like ABC in most markets. You’d need that antenna I mentioned earlier to bridge the gap.
Don't Forget the ESPN+ Exclusive
Here is the part that catches people off guard. At least once a season—sometimes more—there is a game that is only on ESPN+.
It’s not on the cable channel. It’s not on ABC. It is trapped behind the streaming paywall. If you are trying to figure out how to watch Monday Night Football for every single week of the calendar, you almost have to have an ESPN+ subscription on standby. Even if you don't use it for anything else, you'll need it for that one London game or that late-season exclusive.
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And then there’s the ManningCast.
If you haven't watched Peyton and Eli Manning rip into quarterbacks while eating nachos and interviewing celebrities, you’re missing out. The Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli broadcast usually airs on ESPN2. It’s a completely different vibe. It's less "professional broadcast" and more "sitting on the couch with your funniest friends who happen to be Hall of Fame quarterbacks." It doesn't happen every week—usually about 10 games a year—so check the schedule before you go looking for it.
The Mobile Workaround: NFL+
What if you’re stuck at work or commuting? Or maybe you just don't want to pay $75 a month for a streaming bundle?
NFL+ is the league’s own streaming service. For about seven bucks a month, you can watch live local and primetime games (including Monday Night Football) on your phone or tablet.
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The giant, annoying caveat? You can’t "cast" it to your TV. You are restricted to the small screen. It’s perfect for the guy watching under the desk at a late shift, but it’s miserable if you want to host a watch party. Still, for pure affordability, it’s the cheapest legal way to get the game.
The International Struggle
For fans outside the US, the rules change completely. In the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports is the gatekeeper. In Canada, it’s usually DAZN or TSN. The "NFL Game Pass International" (now hosted on DAZN in most regions) is actually way better than the US version because it doesn't have the same blackout restrictions. American fans often look at those international packages with a lot of envy.
Summary of Your Best Options
If you want the most reliable experience, get YouTube TV. It’s the closest thing to the old cable experience without the contract. If you’re broke but have a window, get an antenna for the ABC games and use a friend's ESPN login for the rest.
If you only care about your specific team and they happen to be playing on Monday night, check your local listings. The NFL has a rule that even if a game is "exclusive" to ESPN or ESPN+, it must be broadcast on a local over-the-air station in the home markets of the two teams playing. So if the Chiefs are playing and you live in Kansas City, you’ll find it on a local channel regardless of the national cable situation.
Actionable Steps for Monday Night
- Check the Schedule Early: Don't wait until 8:14 PM to realize the game is an ESPN+ exclusive. Check the official NFL schedule or the ESPN app on Monday morning.
- Test Your Login: Streaming apps love to log you out right when the kickoff happens. Make sure you’re signed in and your subscription is active at least 20 minutes before the game.
- Audit Your Subscriptions: If you only got a streaming service for football, remember to cancel it in February after the Super Bowl. Don't pay $80 a month for "dead air" in the spring.
- Set Up an Antenna: Even if you have streaming, an antenna is a great backup. Internet goes down? You can still catch the ABC broadcast. Plus, the picture quality is often less compressed than the streaming feed.
- Bandwidth Check: If you’re streaming in 4K or even 1080p, make sure nobody else in the house is downloading a 100GB Call of Duty update at the same time. Nothing ruins a game like the "buffering" circle of death right as a receiver catches a deep ball.