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How to Watch the Panthers vs. Steelers 'Thursday Night Football' Game Online for Free Tonight

By: Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle, expert in Personal finance, shopping, consumer trends, and Senior Editor at Money
Brad Tuttle
Senior Editor | Joined January 2014
Brad Tuttle is a senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.
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Published: Nov 08, 2018 6 min read
Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers
Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, at Heinz Field on October 28, 2018.
Justin K. Aller—Getty Images
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The Carolina Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game on "Thursday Night Football" tonight is being broadcast on Fox, with a kickoff scheduled for 8:20 p.m. ET.

While you can watch the Panthers vs. Steelers on TV for free in most of the country, NFL fans can also live stream "Thursday Night Football" in several different ways, even if they don't have cable or another pay TV or streaming TV subscription service. We lay out all the options below if you are hoping to watch the Panthers vs. Steelers for free — online or on TV — tonight.

As for this week's "Thursday Night Football" matchup, the Panthers vs. Steelers betting odds say that the Steelers are 4-point favorites to win tonight at their home stadium, Heinz Field. Both teams have winning records thus far in the 2018 NFL season, at 6-2 for the Panthers and 5-2-1 for the Steelers, and both are expected to make the playoffs. So fans should be in for a good game. Here are all the ways to watch "Thursday Night Football" for free.

What Channel Is the Panthers vs. Steelers Game On?

Your local Fox station should be broadcasting "Thursday Night Football" tonight. You can also watch the Panthers vs. Steelers on the NFL Network, a pay channel included in many satellite and cable packages.

If you have cable or another subscription service, all you have to do is find Fox or the NFL Network to watch the game.

If you don't have cable, you should still be able to watch "Thursday Night Football" in most of the country by attaching a TV to a digital antenna. You can buy buy one for about $25, and it functions similarly to old-fashioned "rabbit ear" antennas, providing free unlimited access to over-the-air networks like Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC. Today's digital antennas offer viewing in hi-def as well.

How to Live Stream the Panthers vs. Steelers Game on Amazon Prime

If you are an Amazon Prime member, or you've wanted to test out a Prime subscription, you can watch "Thursday Night Football" online for free tonight. Prime's Amazon Video is streaming most "Thursday Night Football" games during the 2018 NFL season, including the Panthers vs. Steelers game tonight.

To watch the Panthers and Steelers game, simply log in to your Amazon Prime account, and the live stream will be available for free at Amazon Video. If you are not a Prime member, you could try the service out during a 30-day free trial period. In addition to live streaming video, Amazon Prime includes services such as free two-day shipping on most Amazon purchases and special discounts at Whole Foods.

After the Amazon Prime free trial, you can expect to have to pay $119 per year or $12.99 per month for the service.

How to Live Stream the Panthers vs. Steelers Game on Your Phone

As we've previously reported, fans can live stream NFL games — including tonight's Panthers vs. Steelers "Thursday Night Football" game — for free on their phones with a choice of two different mobile apps:

The main problem with using these apps to live stream NFL games is that you can only view on a smartphone. They cannot be used for streaming on a larger screen, like a tablet or connected TV.

How to Watch 'Thursday Night Football' Online for Free

If you don't have Amazon Prime and want to watch the Panthers vs. Steelers game online on a screen that's larger than your TV, consider signing up for a free trial of a streaming TV service that includes Fox in its bundle of channels.

In most of the country, the streaming TV services Fubo TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, and YouTube TV include local broadcast networks in their packages. That means you can stream local channels of Fox, ABC, CBS, and such, in addition to TNT, ESPN, AMC, the Cartoon Network, and whatever pay channels are included with each service.

Basic live streaming TV packages costs $40 to $45 per month, but you can try out each of them at no charge during a free trial period — available to new subscribers for about a week. If you don't want to become a paying subscriber, be mindful of when the free trial ends. You will be charged in full for the first month if you do not cancel in time.

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