Tablo Blog

How to Watch the 2019 Super Bowl for Free Without Cable

January 31, 2019

We hope you enjoy the following guest post from Chris Brantner, one of the cord cutting experts behind StreamingObserver.com. 

The NFL’s Super Bowl LIII is upon us after championship wins by the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. The two teams will meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Sunday, February 3 at 6:30 p.m. EST.

The Patriots are the favorites to win, but the Rams had the better season, so don’t count them out just yet.

For those who care less about the football portion, the half-time show will include headliners Maroon 5, along with Travis Scott and Big Boi. Plus, you don’t want to miss all the big-budget Super Bowl commercials.

Assuming you don’t have a few thousand dollars to drop on a ticket, you’ll be pleased to know that all cord cutters really need to experience Super Bowl LIII is a TV antenna that receives CBS (or CTV for those of you in Canada).  

A TV Antenna is All You Need to Watch Super Bowl LIII

If you’ve recently cut the cord on cable, an antenna is an inexpensive way to continue enjoying your favorite sports and other broadcast programs.

Depending on your needs you can opt for an indoor antenna or an outdoor model which will pull in channels from further away.

If you’re not sure what channels would be available Over-the-Air in your area, there are signal locator tools that you can use to find out. Most places have a local CBS affiliate so you should be able to watch the game on your TV for free.

Add a Tablo DVR for More Options

TV antennas allow you to watch many channels for free without the need for cable, but for those used to the features available with streaming TV or cable boxes, they can feel limited.

A Tablo DVR can change that though.

When used in conjunction with your antenna, Tablo provides traditional DVR features (like recording, pause and rewind) and a way to watch on a variety of compatible devices.

That means even if you’re not home you can record Super Bowl LIII or watch it on-the-go.

What if You Can't Access OTA Signals?

Even if you don’t have an antenna that can receive CBS, you can still watch Super Bowl LIII online via a streaming service.

With no contracts required, feel free to shop around as all options below include no-risk free trials. Here are a few options that will allow you to watch the Super Bowl and other CBS shows throughout the year.

CBS All Access – For $5.99 a month you’ll get the CBS live stream and a huge on-demand library of CBS content. This plan is limited to only CBS shows, but that’s all you need to watch the Super Bowl.

fuboTV – Not only will fuboTV allow you to watch the Super Bowl, you’ll also get 30 other sports networks in a package with 80+ other channels. This is more of a cable-replacement than CBS All Access. Though it’s $45 a month, the first month is discounted to $40.

DIRECTV NOW – With bundles of between 60+ and 125+ channels, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding something to watch on DirecTV Now. Packages start at $40 and go up depending on your channel count and you can stream on most devices.

PlayStation Vue – PS Vue is another good choice that will give you Super Bowl access. Along with local channels, you’ll have everything from kids shows to movie channels. You can stream on PS3 and PS4 gaming consoles or use mobile devices, or streamers like Roku

As you can see, it’s easy to watch the Super Bowl without cable and even easier to watch it with a digital antenna and Tablo DVR.

Whether you’re a Patriots fan or you’re rooting for the Rams – good luck and may the best team win!

Chris Brantner is the expert behind Streaming Observer, where he covers all things related to the world of cord cutting. He has also served as a contributor for US News & World Report, TechHive, VICE, Houston Chronicle, San Diego Union-Tribune, and more. Follow him on Twitter @StreamingOb.