How to watch Thanksgiving football: live stream a day of sports from anywhere

(Image credit: Getty Images / Icon Sportswire)

Nothing – not tense family feasts, not street parade floats, not even turducken (RIP John Madden) – is as central to the Thanksgiving Day experience as a full slate of football, and there are four cracking grudge contests to get your teeth into this Thanksgiving Thursday.

Per tradition, the Lions and Cowboys are on hosting duties, though in a break from the usual format, Detroit are actually good now! So despite being on a six-game winless run on Thanksgiving Day, Dan Campbell's men are the heavy favorites to beat their NFC North rivals Green Bay in the day's early game, from 12.30pm ET, at Ford Field.

After that it's over to NRG Stadium for the all-NFC East meeting of the Commanders and the Cowboys, from 4.30pm ET. Dallas are in fine fettle, with cornerback DaRon Bland already hailed as the frontrunner for the defensive player of the year award, whereas Washington head coach Ron Rivera is waiting for the hammer to fall. He's now overseen seven defeats in the Commanders' last nine games.

You'll then be confronted with a dilemma. The Battle of the Golden Egg between local college football rivals the Ole Miss Rebels and Mississippi State Bulldogs will begin at 7.30pm ET but the top-of-the-standings showdown between NFC West foes the 49ers and Seahawks is scheduled to begin at 8.20pm ET. Our advice: record NFL and watch it after. Family? What do you mean? You all watch football, right?

Whichever way you go, read on and we'll show you the best and cheapest ways to watch Thanksgiving football wherever you are this year including all your NFL live streams.

Watch Thanksgiving football on Sling

Get 50% off your first month of Sling TV
Ignoring the free trial offers which you've probably already used, OTT streaming service Sling TV is going to be the most cost effective way to watch football this Thanksgiving.

It's a reliable service, reasonably priced and includes ESPN, Fox and NBC in select markets, as part of its combined Sling Orange & Blue bundle. The usual cost is $60 month, but if you're new to the service, or a returning customer, you can get your first month for half-price.

CBS is the odd one out, but three out of four ain't bad. Besides, you can pick up Paramount Plus for a small price to stream the 4.30pm ET game.

Preferred partner (What does this mean?)

Thanksgiving games and TV schedule

(All times ET)

Thursday, November 23
12.30pm: Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions (Fox)
4.30pm: Washington Commanders vs Dallas Cowboys (CBS, Paramount +)
7.30pm: Mississippi vs Mississippi State (ESPN)
8.20pm: San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks (NBC, Peacock)

You can use a VPN to watch Thanksgiving football from abroad. Full details on how to do that just below.

How to watch Thanksgiving football from outside your country

We've set out how you can watch Thanksgiving football in a number of countries around the world. However, if you're away travelling for pleasure or for work, you probably won't be able to tune in like you normally would at home. This is the result of geo-blocking – best understood as digital borders that restrict certain services and content to specific parts of the world.

You can get around these digital borders by using one of the best VPNs, which can also offer robust protection from cybercriminals and government snooping. They're really easy to use too.

Use a VPN to watch Thanksgiving football from anywhere:

ExpressVPN is the world's top VPN right now
We've taken the time to try out all the biggest VPN providers and we found ExpressVPN to be the pick of the bunch. It works with lots of devices and offers super fast connections across its many servers.

Throw in its robust set of security features and ExpressVPN is the best all-round VPN for streaming – and perhaps best of all, it has a 30-day money back guarantee plus 3 months FREE when you subscribe for a year.

Access ExpressVPN via your laptop, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, PlayStation, Xbox and plenty more. Express is a do-it-all service that also benefits from 24/7 customer support.

- Try ExpressVPN 100% risk-free for 30 days

How to use a VPN to watch Thanksgiving football

Using a VPN is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN – as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN.

2. Connect to the appropriate server location – open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location, eg: 'US' for Sling.

3. Go to the broadcaster's stream - head to your home broadcaster's site or app and watch as if you were at home – Sling for Americans abroad.

How to watch Thanksgiving football in the US without cable

With Thanksgiving football split between four different networks, your best bet for tuning in is via an OTT streaming service, such as Sling TV or FuboTV.

We've already mentioned above that Sling TV is one of the most cost effective ways to watch but it doesn't have CBS.

Fortunately, all of CBS' NFL games are also live streamed on Paramount Plus, which starts at $5.99 per month, and all of NBC's games are also live streamed on Peacock TV, which starts at $5.99 per month too.

If you're after a single service to get the lot, FuboTV is a good choice. It carries Fox, CBS, ESPN and NBC in select markets – all the TV channels you need to watch Thanksgiving football.

Prices start at $74.99 per month, which also makes it the more expensive choice, but new customers get a FREE FuboTV trial, so that could work out very well for you.

How to watch Thanksgiving football from abroad

Don't forget, you can take your favorite streaming coverage with you wherever you are with the help of a good VPN – try the best around, ExpressVPN 100% risk-free for 30-days.

How to watch Thanksgiving football in the UK

Any Brits looking for an authentic taste of the American Thanksgiving Day experience can get their fill on Sky Sports or NFL Game Pass.

All three Thanksgiving NFL games are being shown on both services. Unfortunately, there's no way to watch Mississippi vs Mississippi State in the UK.

NFL fans in the UK can typically watch up to six games live each week on Sky Sports, which has a dedicated Sky Sports NFL channel and access to the live RedZone highlights show each Sunday.

Subscribers also get to watch on the move using the Sky Go app, which is available on nearly all modern phones, tablets, laptops, PCs and consoles.

If you want to sign up to Sky Sports, you can check out our guide to Sky TV deals and packages for today's best prices.

Don't fancy being locked in to a long, expensive contract? Consider the more flexible streaming option, Now, (formerly Now TV). Now sports passes start at £11.98.

Hardcore NFL fans may instead want to look at NFL Game Pass, which costs £14.99 per month or £74.99 for the rest of season and shows every out of market game live.

Away from the UK but still want to catch the action? Use a VPN to live stream the NFL on your usual services as if you were at home.

How to watch Thanksgiving football in Canada

NFL fans in Canada have it pretty good, as streaming service DAZN provides coverage of every single game of the 2023/24 season, including the Super Bowl.

DAZN costs CA$29.99 a month or $199.99 a year. Away from home? No problem.

Use a VPN to watch NFL on DAZN while abroad.

Not only do you get every single NFL game, but DAZN is also the exclusive Canadian streaming home of Champions League, Europa League and EFL Championship soccer!

It also comes with support for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, PS4, and laptop/PC streaming (including Mac devices).

TV coverage of select games is also available on linear Canadian TV, via CTV and TSN.

How to watch Thanksgiving football in Australia

All four Thanksgiving football games are available to watch on ESPN and Kayo Sports in Australia.

While ESPN is available via a Foxtel subscription, Kayo Sports is an ideal option if you don't want the commitment of a lengthy (and pricey) contract.

Kayo lets you stream on one device with its $25 per month One plan, two devices with its $30 per month Basic plan, and three devices with its $35 Premium plan.

It also gives you access to over 50 other sports besides the NFL and college football, including cricket, NRL, PGA Tour golf, F1... the list goes on! Handy if you don't want to go all out on Fox.

It's also worth noting that NFL Game Pass is showing every remaining NFL game of the season live, with a subscription available for AU$28.99 per week or AU$138.99.

Not in Australia right now? Use a VPN if you're abroad, in order to tap into your home coverage.

Aatif is a freelance copywriter and journalist based in the UK. He’s written about technology, science and politics for publications including Gizmodo, The Independent, Trusted Reviews and Newsweek, but focuses on streaming at Future, an arrangement that combines two of his greatest passions: sport and penny-pinching.