Chris Brantner: How To Watch The Minnesota Vikings Without Cable
North Dakota is a great state to live in, but it lacks one important thing: an NFL team of its own! North Dakota is not alone in this struggle – more than half of US states don’t have their own NFL team. Most North Dakotans tend to root for the Minnesota Vikings, since they’re the closest geographically.
While many football fans rely on cable or satellite TV to watch NFL games live, there’s a growing movement of people who are fed up with the skyrocketing prices of cable, and who are seeking alternative ways of watching TV. If you’re wondering how you can ditch your cable provider and still keep up with the Minnesota Vikings, you’ve come to the right place!
Meet “the Netflix of the NFL”
To be honest, if Netflix offered more sports coverage, nobody would even bother with cable any more. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t offer NFL games or really much sports content at all – but there’s a similar new service that does.
It’s called NFL Game Pass, and some football fans are referring to it as “the Netflix of the NFL” because of its similarities to Netflix. Like Netflix, Game Pass works on various devices, including computers, mobile devices, gaming consoles, and streaming devices. It’s a great way for NFL fans to keep up with all their favorite teams without cable.
NFL Game Pass is primarily an on-demand, replay streaming service. During the regular season, football fans can watch every NFL game on-demand, starting shortly after the game airs on live TV. Games are always added the same day of the broadcast, but you won’t be able to watch live streaming of regular season games with Game Pass.
You can choose between watching full replays, or shortened 30-minute replays of pure NFL action. Subscribers will also enjoy live coverage of preseason games, live audio coverage of regular season games, exclusive camera angles, and more.
Last but not least, NFL Game Pass offers a massive streaming library of old NFL games. You can actually go back and watch every single game since the 2009 season. That’s over 1,000 full NFL replays to watch and almost 100 Minnesota Vikings replays.
Catch the Game Live with Your Antenna
If you live in North Dakota, you should be able to watch the Vikings over-the-air, for free, with the use of an antenna. All you’ll need to do is tune into your local sports station to catch the game in HD over-the-air.
The Minnesota Vikings games show on these local channels:
- KVRR in Fargo, ND
- KNDX in Bismark, ND
Stream on-the-go with the NFL Mobile App (for Verizon Customers)
If you’re a Verizon Wireless customer, you can stream Vikings games LIVE from your smartphone or tablet using the NFL Mobile App. The app is completely free, and Verizon customers can stream local and primetime games for free as well. That means if you live in the Vikings broadcast market, you’ll be able to stream their games on your devices. The only downside is that you’ll have to watch the game on your mobile device, because you won’t be able to mirror the game on your TV from the app.
Stream Vikings Games Live with New DirecTV Offering
If you want to enjoy games live, one of the best options is DirecTV’s new streaming version of its popular NFL Sunday Ticket. This streaming service lets subscribers stream every out-of-market Sunday NFL game live from the comfort of their couches, on streaming devices, mobile devices, and computers. You don’t need cable or satellite service to take advantage of this service. However, blackouts do apply, so if you’re in the Vikings broadcast area, this might not work for you.
In order to qualify for NFL Sunday Ticket, you have to live somewhere that doesn’t allow you to get full DirecTV satellite service (such as a condo, apartment, or dorm). To check your eligibility, visit the Sunday Ticket streaming website.
When All Else Fails, Go Grab a Beer
On-demand streaming from home is always nice, but sometimes you just want to watch a game live. If you don’t have cable, one of the easiest ways to do catch live Vikings games is to simply visit a local sports bar. It can be fun to watch the game with a bunch of like-minded fans, cheering on AP, Bridgewater, and the whole team!
