New NFL Game Pass Brings On-Demand Football to Your Apple TV

Later this summer, before the football season begins, NFL will be introducing a new service that will allow its subscribers to view almost any NFL game all the way back to 2009 on demand. The NFL Game Pass, already available on mobile devices, is being revamped to offer more features – perhaps most importantly, it will be available on the Apple TV.

The new NFL Game Pass will offer subscribers access to all 256 regular season games on demand after they air, as well as select live streaming of out-of-market preseason games, and an archive of games from 2009-present including Super Bowls. Viewers also have the option of watching “condensed games”, which lets them view entire games in the span of about 30 minutes. All games are available in HD, with full pause, fast forward, and rewind controls, as well as the availability of “All-22 and EndZone” angles to view the game from.

Although live streams of regular season NFL games aren’t included in the package, the revamped Game Pass marks the first time users are able to watch full NFL games on the Apple TV. Previously, Apple TV viewers were limited to the NFL Now app, which focuses mainly on breaking news and highlights. The exclusion of live streams of regular season games may be a deal-breaker for football fans looking to “cut the cord” from cable and satellite companies, but for those looking to supplement their football addiction, NFL Game Pass could be a wonderful package.

The NFL hasn’t released pricing data for the service as of yet, but Game Rewind, the service that Game Pass will be replacing, offers similar functionality for $25 per season. According to the NFL website, games will be available soon after they air – “Sunday morning and afternoon games (9:30am ET, 1pm ET & 4pm ET) are available at the conclusion of all Sunday 4pm ET games, and Sunday night, Monday night, Thursday and Saturday NFL games are available following the conclusion of the applicable game telecast.”