NFL football-obsessed military personnel, civilians and their families can watch every moment of the 2024 season through the Super Bowl with the American Forces Network's free video-on-demand app.
AFN Now broadcasts are live streamed and They will also be showing pre-recorded games, which avid fans will already know about, but all 272 regular season games and every postseason game will be shown.
AFN's head of digital platforms, Kim Antos, said the company sought to expand access to its most popular content with the opportunity to broadcast the app's first full NFL season in 2023.
“Our team said, 'We think we're going to win every game, every touchdown, every moment throughout the season,'” she said.
For die-hard NFL fans looking for even more action, the app is getting ready to roll out additional streaming content from the league.
“We worked with them to successfully acquire the NFL Channel,” Antos said.
Antos said most programming on the NFL-owned NFL Channel includes archived games and game footage.
“If you're a soccer fan and you want to watch soccer, it's available 24 hours a day,” she said.
The 2024 NFL season will kick off on Sept. 5 when the Baltimore Ravens host the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The game will be broadcast live on one of AFN's three satellite sports channels and will also be streamed live on its app.
Like every year, AFN's sports producers select NFL matchups to air live on AFN Sports, AFN Sports 2 and AFN Prime, said Regina Chu, the network's president of television production.
Broadcast decisions are typically made the week of the game based on team standings, rivalries and other factors, she said.
“If the Jacksonville Jaguars are doing well this year, are we going to put them against the Chicago Bears?'” she said. “We're looking at … what's going to be the most compelling thing that's going to interest our viewers.”
Games that are broadcast live or on-demand on AFN TV will be simulcast on the app, Antos said. Unlike last year, the app will pick up games that don't air on AFN TV and make them available on demand as app-exclusive games about 24-48 hours after the game has concluded.
These games will be available for 7 days before the content is updated.
“Most of these games are at times that are inconvenient for viewers,” she said. “Being able to give viewers the ability to tune in when they're awake and able to watch is something we're really excited about.”
The app plans to stream the same number of college football games this year, but that could change in the future depending on how NFL broadcasts expand, Antos said.
AFN Now is available free of charge to all DoD personnel deployed overseas and their families, and each household 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 abroad typically have to pay for a commercial app subscription to watch NFL games. DAZN, for example, which broadcasts every NFL regular season and playoff game live and on-demand, charges viewers in Germany about $200, according to the company's website.
About 64 percent of AFN users connect via television, Antos said, and viewers who have trouble connecting should contact the help desk for assistance.
Antos said that if viewers are using a VPN with a non-authorized IP address, they can access the app but the content will disappear because AFN is only available overseas. If that happens, she said it's best to turn off the VPN and try again in 15 minutes or so.
Two years after its release, the app is now installed on more than 71,000 mobile devices worldwide, said AFN spokesman John Clearwater.