The National Football League and the National Basketball Association have an answer for sports fans in the U.S. who have run out of options to watch new live games: Try re-watching older games.
The NFL said it’s making every game since 2009 available for free streaming on its direct-to-consumer service NFL Game Pass. The subscription service, which costs $99 for a full season of access, will be available for free in the U.S. until May 31, the league announced on Wednesday.
The NBA and Turner Sports on Wednesday also removed the paywall for the League Pass subscription service until April 22. The service, which has multiple subscription tiers, offers full-length and condensed replay of all games from the current NBA season, as well as an archive of classic games and other programming.
Last week, the NBA suspended its regular season after a player tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Soon after, every major sports league in the U.S. either suspended or delayed their seasons.
The NFL, which is currently in its off-season, made its decision to remove the paywall over the last few days, said David Jurenka, senior vice president of media for the NFL.
In the three hours after making the free offering available on Wednesday, the NFL saw 500 times the average number of daily sign-ups for Game Pass, according to a league spokeswoman.
The NFL’s decision comes as sports TV networks including ESPN and Fox Sports are scrambling to fill programming time originally slated for live games. Some are seeking to license past games.
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