What are the different ways to watch American football in France?
The sport is growing in popularity in Europe
A bar in your local area may show matches during the season
gpointstudio/Shutterstock
Reader Question: I plan to move to France this summer from the United States, but I am concerned I will not be able to follow my NFL team as I know the sport is not as popular there. Is there any way to watch the games?
There are several ways to watch American football games – including especially the NFL (National Football League) major events – for those living in France.
Major channel M6 shows a weekly football match during the main season (scheduled on Sundays at 19:00), as well as several playoff games and the Superbowl (annual league championship) final.
These are shown on either the main M6 or alternative W9 channels.
Otherwise, there are two main subscription services that provide coverage of the sport
BeIN Sports, a subscription channel hosts three weekly NFL-themed shows on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays during the regular season – which show games and highlights – as well the ‘NFL RedZone’.
It also shows the Superbowl final, however a subscription to the service costs €15 per month through the BeIN Sports subscription, which also provides access to several other sports.
The most comprehensive access is found through the NFL Game Pass, available through sports streaming site DAZN.
It provides access to all the games over the season, as well as highlights of previous matches, the NFL RedZone and NFL Network shows, the NFL draft, and original shows and documentaries on the sport.
The shows can be streamed on any device or website that uses DAZN, including Amazon, Apple, video games consoles, and several smart TVs with the DAZN app.
It comes with the highest price tag – €209.99 for the 2024/2025 year, which may increase for the upcoming season – however this can be split into four separate payments.
Last year, two NFL games were available on the French version of streaming site Netflix, with more potentially available in future seasons.
Read more: What subscriptions are needed to watch sports in France?
Alternative ways to watch
With the sport growing in popularity in France, many sports and American-themed bars as well as ‘pubs’ will likely show matches during the main season, as they will likely have subscriptions to these services.
A second alternative may be to stream certain games through a VPN connected to a server in the United States. Using VPNs is legal in France, however, with the caveat that you should not use it for ‘illicit’ activities.
French paid-for channel Canal+ has been putting pressure on the government to crack down on VPNs being used to access certain illegal foreign streaming sites (ie. not bona fide subscription services) which provide content that it has the rights to in France.
