Every Monday Night Football game airs on ESPN at 8:15 p.m. Eastern. About half of them are also on ABC, which means you can watch those for free with an antenna. The finder below checks the live listing for the next Monday game, shows the networks carrying it, and converts kickoff to your local time. Under that, you’ll find the Mondays that need ESPN, the ones that don’t, and what each way of watching really costs for the rest of the season.
Next Monday Night Football Game and Channel
This card checks ESPN’s public game listing when the page loads and refreshes on its own every minute while a game is in progress. Kickoff is shown in your device’s time zone.
If the live listing can’t load (some ad and privacy blockers stop it), this card falls back to the published schedule. Late network changes are rare, but ESPN can add an ABC simulcast or swap a game during flex weeks, so check your guide on game day.
Monday Night Countdown runs from 6 to 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the game broadcast itself picks up at 8 p.m. with kickoff around 8:15. If you’re setting a DVR, add at least an hour at the end. In our testing across several Mondays, games regularly ran past 11:30 p.m. ET, and a recording that stops at the scheduled end time will usually miss the fourth quarter.
Key Answers Before Game Night
These are the questions that come up most often on Monday afternoons, usually from people who just found out their streaming app doesn’t include ESPN.
ESPN, every single week. ABC is an extra. ESPN says ten of the 17 regular-season Monday games are simulcast on ABC, and the rest air only on ESPN. Of the 13 Mondays still left on the published schedule, six are listed with ABC. When a game is on both, it’s the same broadcast with the same announcers, so it doesn’t matter which channel you pick.
Yes, on the weeks ABC carries it. A digital antenna pulls in your local ABC station in HD with no monthly bill. There’s also a lesser-known rule that helps fans of the two teams playing: when a Monday game airs only on ESPN, the NFL has it shown on a local broadcast station in each team’s home market. So if you live near Pittsburgh or Jacksonville, for example, the December 14 Steelers–Jaguars game should be on free local TV even though the rest of the country needs ESPN.
Not on the regular Disney+ or Hulu plans by themselves. You need ESPN Unlimited, either on its own or in the Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited bundle. The cheaper ESPN Select tier, the plan that used to be called ESPN+, doesn’t include the main ESPN channel and won’t reliably show Monday games.
It’s Peyton and Eli Manning’s alternate broadcast of the game, with guests, jokes, and this season a new segment called Manning Mode that breaks down plays using live stats. It airs on ESPN2 and in the ESPN app at 8 p.m. ET on a dozen selected nights, including the Super Bowl. It isn’t on every Monday, so check ESPN2’s listing that afternoon. If you have ESPN, you almost always have ESPN2 as well.
Yes, two ways. The ESPN app streams the game if you sign in with a TV provider that carries ESPN or have ESPN Unlimited. NFL+ also carries live prime-time games, Monday nights included, but only on phones and tablets. You can’t cast NFL+ games to your TV, which trips up a lot of first-time subscribers.
No. Sunday Ticket covers out-of-market Sunday afternoon games only. Monday, Thursday and Sunday night games are national broadcasts that sit outside the package, so buying Sunday Ticket won’t get you ESPN on Monday.
For ESPN Unlimited subscribers, yes. ESPN took over NFL Network this year, and it now streams inside the ESPN app at no extra charge for Unlimited members. That matters because NFL Network has its own exclusive games this season, including several international games, so one subscription now covers more of the schedule than it used to.
Remaining Monday Night Football Schedule and Channels
When we mapped the rest of the Monday slate by network, a clear pattern showed up: October is ABC-heavy, while late November through early January leans ESPN-only. That’s exactly when many antenna-only households get caught out.
| Date | Matchup | Channel | Free with antenna? | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, Oct 12 | Bills at Rams | ESPN · ABC | Yes | ESPN2 ManningCast listed for 8 p.m. ET on some guides |
| Mon, Oct 19 | Commanders at 49ers | ESPN · ABC | Yes | West Coast game, same 8:15 ET start |
| Mon, Oct 26 | Cowboys at Eagles | ESPN · ABC | Yes | Division rivalry; expect heavy pregame coverage |
| Mon, Nov 2 | Bears at Seahawks | ESPN | No (except local markets) | First Monday after clocks fall back |
| Mon, Nov 9 | Bills at Vikings | ESPN · ABC | Yes | Buffalo’s second Monday game |
| Mon, Nov 16 | Chargers at Ravens | ESPN | No (except local markets) | Day Pass candidate |
| Mon, Nov 23 | Bengals at Commanders | ESPN | No (except local markets) | Thanksgiving week |
| Mon, Nov 30 | Panthers at Buccaneers | ESPN | No (except local markets) | Flex scheduling now in play |
| Mon, Dec 7 | Cowboys at Seahawks | ESPN · ABC | Yes | Subject to flex |
| Mon, Dec 14 | Steelers at Jaguars | ESPN | No (except local markets) | Subject to flex |
| Mon, Dec 21 | Patriots at Chiefs | ESPN · ABC | Yes | Subject to flex |
| Mon, Dec 28 | Giants at Lions | ESPN | No (except local markets) | Subject to flex |
| Mon, Jan 4 | Texans at Packers | ESPN | No (except local markets) | Last Monday game; subject to flex |
From the November 30 game through January 4, the league can swap a weak Monday matchup for a better one, usually with about 12 days’ notice. In practice, that means the teams on your calendar may change, but the game still airs on ESPN at the same time. Whether a flexed-in game also lands on ABC is decided case by case, so don’t plan an antenna-only watch party for a December Monday until the listing is final.
Every Way to Watch Monday Night Football, Compared
The right pick depends mostly on one question: do you need just Monday nights, or are you replacing cable altogether? Prices below are standard monthly rates before taxes and any introductory deals.
| Option | Cost | ESPN games | ABC games | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital antenna | $0/mo after a one-time purchase | No (team markets excepted) | Yes | Pairing with a Day Pass for ESPN-only weeks |
| Sling Orange Day Pass | $4.99 for 24 hours | Yes | Yes (via ESPN) | Watching one specific game without a subscription |
| ESPN Unlimited | $31.99/mo or about $320/yr | Yes, plus ESPN2 and NFL Network | Yes (ESPN feed) | Cheapest way to see every Monday game |
| Sling Orange monthly | $45.99/mo | Yes | ESPN feed only, no local ABC | ESPN plus TNT, TBS and cable basics |
| YouTube TV | $82.99/mo | Yes | Yes, local ABC | Full cable replacement; ESPN app access included |
| Hulu + Live TV | About $90/mo | Yes | Yes, local ABC | Households that also want Disney+ and Hulu |
| DirecTV or Dish satellite | Plan-dependent, plus fees | Yes (DirecTV 206, Dish 140) | Yes, with locals | Rural homes without reliable broadband |
| NFL+ | Low monthly fee | Phone and tablet only | Phone and tablet only | Watching on the go; can’t cast to a TV |
Several large TV providers, YouTube TV and Xfinity among them, now give their customers ESPN Unlimited access in the ESPN app at no added charge. Before you subscribe to ESPN directly, open the ESPN app, choose to sign in with your TV provider, and see what unlocks. We found that a surprising number of readers asking how to stream Monday games already had full ESPN app access through a package they were paying for.
What It Costs to Watch the Rest of the Season
Monthly prices hide the real comparison. We priced out the 13 Mondays left, counting four billing months for subscriptions (October through early January) and one Day Pass per game for the pay-as-you-go routes.
The cheapest full-coverage route is an antenna for the six ABC Mondays plus a $4.99 Day Pass on the seven ESPN-only nights. That totals about $35 for the rest of the season once you own an antenna. It takes a bit of discipline, since every pass has to be bought on game day and expires after 24 hours.
If you’d rather not think about it each week, ESPN Unlimited is the clear middle ground. Four months comes to about $128, and you also get ESPN2 for the ManningCast, college football and NFL Network. Cancel after the last Monday in January and you won’t pay for the offseason. YouTube TV only makes sense if it’s replacing a cable bill. As a Monday-night-only purchase, it’s the most expensive way in by a wide margin.
The Best Option for Your Situation
Put up an antenna and keep the Day Pass in your back pocket. Check the schedule above each week: on ABC weeks, you just tune to your local ABC station. On ESPN-only weeks, buy the Sling Orange Day Pass shortly before kickoff. The pass runs a full 24 hours, so a 7 p.m. purchase still covers a game that runs long. Set the account up in advance, though. In our testing, creating a new account and adding payment took several minutes, which is time you don’t want to spend during the opening drive.
If you have DirecTV, ESPN is channel 206 and ESPN2 is 209. On Dish, ESPN is 140 and ESPN2 is 143. Either way, you need your local channels package for the ABC simulcasts. If you’re streaming over satellite internet, think about data: a high-definition stream typically uses around 3 GB an hour, so a game with pregame can use roughly 10 GB. That’s a non-issue on an unlimited plan but adds up fast on plans with monthly data limits. Lowering the stream quality to standard definition in the app cuts usage sharply.
The least confusing setup is an antenna on the TV for ABC weeks, with no app, no login, and no monthly bill. Most new TVs find local channels with a single “channel scan” in the settings menu. For ESPN-only weeks, ask a family member to set up a Day Pass on a streaming stick you already own, or just catch those games at a friend’s house or a local spot. Be wary of websites promising “free ESPN streams.” Many are unlicensed and can push pop-ups that try to get you to install software or call a fake support number.
Check your local broadcast stations before paying for anything. When a Monday game is ESPN-only, a station in each team’s home market typically carries it over the air. That station is often not your ABC affiliate. It might be a CBS, Fox or independent station that bought the local rights, so look at your local listings on Monday morning rather than assuming the game isn’t on free TV.
Streaming is almost always behind over-the-air TV. On a Monday night we ran the ESPN app and an antenna side by side, and the app trailed the ABC broadcast by close to a minute. Cable and satellite usually land somewhere in between. If it matters to you, watch ABC weeks on the antenna, and on ESPN-only weeks, mute group chats or turn off score notifications in your sports apps.
ESPN Deportes carries Spanish-language commentary for Monday games, and it’s included with ESPN Unlimited and most live TV packages that have the Deportes add-on. For captions, turn on closed captioning in your TV’s settings or in the player controls of the streaming app. ABC and ESPN broadcasts carry captions, though live captions run a few seconds behind the play.
Where to Get Help
If your antenna won’t find ABC, the FCC’s reception map shows which stations should reach your address and in which direction to point the antenna. For billing or login problems with ESPN Unlimited or Sling, go straight to each company’s help center rather than a search result, since fake “support numbers” are a common scam.
Schedule reflects the published 2026 Monday Night Football slate as of early October 2026; the live card above pulls ESPN’s public listing and may differ if networks or matchups change. ESPN Unlimited pricing reflects the rate in effect since September 17, 2026. Sling, YouTube TV, and Hulu + Live TV prices are standard rates before taxes, regional fees, and promotions, and can change without notice. Satellite channel numbers are for standard national feeds and may vary by package. This page is independent and not affiliated with the NFL, ESPN, ABC, Sling TV, or any provider named.
Key sources: NFL.com · ESPN Press Room · FCC · Sling TV · YouTube TV