Even if you don't know Tom Brady from Jan Brady, you are surely aware that a "Super Bowl" is happening this weekend. The Super Bowl is arguably America's most important live thing. In our increasingly niche mediascape, this is one of the few remaining events that still commands the attention of an entire nation regardless of location, identity, political affiliation, or other labels that divide us.
And let us give hearty cheers to Fox for breaking down one additional barrier—the one that exists between cord cutters and the cord adherent—by opening the digital live stream of Sunday's showdown to all for free. Yes, Super Bowl 51 will indeed be available to stream online from any connected device with no annoying authentication or paywall BS to get in the way.
Thank you, Fox Sports for helping to heal our fractured society.
Aside from the televised broadcast, sports fans can watch the live stream on their PC through FoxSports.com. Users will also have the ability to stream to mobile via the Fox Sports Go app (, , , ) or feed the stream directly to their TV via Fox Sports' OTT apps (available for Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Xbox, Android TV, and Fire TV).
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Additionally, the live stream is also available on mobile devices via the official NFL Mobile app (, , ), but only for eligible Verizon customers. Congrats to you, VerizonFaces!
Additional for-pay options include streaming through your PlayStation console via the PlayStation Vue service, which has plans starting at $39.99/month (though, we will note, Sony is currently offering a seven-day free trial if you want to stick it to the man). Alternatively, you could sign up for Sling TV's $25/month "40+ Channels" plan, which allows you to stream Fox (and many other channels) to your TV, PC, or mobile device (Sling also offers a free seven-day trial).
The Super Bowl L1 showdown between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday and will be broadcast from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. If you don't like sports, but love commericals, there will be plenty of those. And the half-time entertainment will be the first name that comes to mind when you think about football: Lady Gaga. Go teams! Go America!