Fans of Canadian football, or football in general, rejoice. It will be possible to watch CFL games for free this year. The league announced that all 81 regular season games as well as the Grey Cup Playoffs and 110th Grey Cup can be streamed using CFL+ for those overseas.
In the US, 47 regular season games are available on the service with the remaining 34 contests to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The league moved away from longtime television partner ESPN at the end of 2022.
As for the details. The streaming service will be available on desktop and mobile devices. No additional downloads or login services are required, and you won’t have to purchase anything to watch live games. That’s the good news. Now time for the bad.
While you may be able to watch CFL games for free both in the US and overseas, they can only be viewed on mobile phones, tablets or desktop computers. Chromecast and other devices won’t be supported by CFL+. You could, in theory, use an app or HDMI cable to get them on a television.
Additionally, Canadian football games won’t be made available on demand. You either watch them live or not at all. Wraparound content, such as pre- and post-game shows will not be shown. It’s also unlikely that overseas viewers will receive any sort of halftime show.
You can learn more about CFL+ here.
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Being able to watch CFL games for free is a win
Even with the restrictions, being able to watch CFL games for free is awesome. Sure, US fans without CBS Sports Network will miss some matchups. But that still beats everything being behind the ESPN+ paywall. And the freedom to check out the league overseas is impressive.
Look, I’m not a huge Canadian football fan. But it is something to watch during the dog days of summer when the only options on TV are TBT, NASCAR or more baseball. There is only so much regular season MLB a person can take.
The CFL deserves some massive props for giving people a chance to check it out for free this season instead of not showing games at all. *Cough* Fox’s college football rights for overseas college football fans *Cough*.
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