You Paid $150 for Cable to Watch That? How to Watch the Eagles for Free Next Time
Let's get it out of the way: Monday night was not the Birds' finest hour.
The Eagles walked into Soldier Field 2-0 and favored. The Bears were starting a backup quarterback. Then came three turnovers, ten penalties, and Chicago holding the ball for nearly 37 of the game's 60 minutes. The Eagles' only touchdown came with one second left in the first half. Final score: Bears 27, Eagles 7.
Now here's the part that stings a little more for some of you: if you paid a cable bill to watch that, you didn't have to.
That game was free
Monday Night Football usually lives on ESPN, a cable channel. But this week's game was also simulcast on ABC, a regular broadcast network. That means anyone in the Philadelphia area with a basic HD antenna (about $20–$30, one time, no monthly fee) watched the exact same loss for zero dollars a month.
Same Joe Buck. Same Troy Aikman. Same heartburn. Just no cable bill attached.
The next two Eagles games are free, too
Good news for anyone ready to put Monday behind them:
Sunday, Oct. 4: Rams at Eagles, 1:00 p.m. on FOX. Free with an antenna.
Monday, Oct. 26: Cowboys at Eagles, 8:15 p.m. on ESPN and ABC. Another Monday night game that's also on ABC, so it's free with an antenna. (If the Eagles are going to get embarrassed on national TV again, at least let it not be against Dallas.)
Most Eagles games air on FOX, CBS, NBC, or ABC, all of which an antenna picks up.
What about games that are only on ESPN?
This season, some Monday Night Football games air on ESPN only, with no ABC simulcast. None of the Eagles' remaining games are ESPN-only right now, but schedules can shift later in the season. And if you also follow college football, a lot of it lives on ESPN.
For those one-off nights, you don't need a monthly subscription. Sling TV sells a Day Pass for $4.99 that gives you 24 hours of its Sling Orange lineup, which includes ESPN. There are also longer passes if you want a weekend or a full week. A few things to know:
Passes are for Sling Orange only (that's the package with ESPN).
The 24 hours start when you activate it, so buy it close to kickoff, not the night before.
There are no refunds once it's activated.
Five bucks for one game beats paying for ESPN all month to watch one game.
Quick cheat sheet
Sunday afternoon games (FOX/CBS): Antenna, free
Monday Night Football on ABC: Antenna, free
Monday Night Football on ESPN only: Sling Day Pass, $4.99
Sunday Night Football (NBC): Antenna, free, or Peacock
Thursday Night Football: Amazon Prime Video
The bigger point
The Eagles will bounce back. Your cable bill won't fix itself.
If you're paying $150 or more a month for TV and you mostly watch the Birds and a handful of channels, there's a good chance you're paying for a lot you don't use. That's what we do at Household Advocate: we look at what you actually watch and what you're actually paying, and show you where the savings are. The review is free.
