Watch the Dallas Cowboys live without cable on the device of your choice, including Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, and more.
Table of Contents
Based on my first-hand experience using and reviewing every live TV streaming service to watch college and pro football, here are my top picks for watching Dallas Cowboys games live without cable this season.
DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, NFL+ (mobile only) and YouTube TV all offer full local Cowboys coverage through the Super Bowl, but only Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM also carry Texas Rangers, Mavs, and Stars games on Bally Sports Southwest. Out-of-market, Cowboys fans can follow the team weekly by adding NFL Sunday Ticket to a YouTube TV subscription.
All the NFL channels you need to live stream Cowboys games in-market. | $74.99 / month | 7 Day Free Trial |
Full local coverage of Cowboys games from Dallas / Ft. Worth, plus Bally Sports SW. | $99.99 / month | 5 Day Free Trial |
Watch the Cowboys on your local FOX affiliate in-market, including KDFW-TV FOX 4 Dallas. | $35 / month | Explore offers |
Full local coverage, plus NFL Sunday Ticket for out-of-market fans. | $72.99 / month | 14 Day Free Trial |
Important channels
Most Cowboys games will air on local FOX and CBS affiliates. In the Dallas area, the most important channels for Cowboy fans will be KTVT-TV CBS 11, KDFW FOX 4 Dallas, ESPN, and KXAS-TV NBC 5 Dallas-Ft. Worth.
Most important channels for Cowboy fans this season by game type:
- 1 and 4pm regular season kickoffs – CBS and FOX
- Thanksgiving Day Game – FOX
- Monday Night Football – ABC / ESPN
- Thursday Night Football – Local affiliates / Amazon Prime
- Sunday Night Football – NBC
- NFL Playoffs – ABC, CBS, ESPN, FOX, Peacock
In the easy-to-use table below, we list the live TV streaming providers that carry the most critical channels for watching the Cowboys this season.
Fubo | DIRECTV STREAM | Paramount+ | Hulu + Live TV | Sling Orange & Blue | YouTube TV | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABC | ||||||
CBS | ||||||
ESPN | ||||||
FOX | ||||||
NBC | ||||||
NFL Network | ||||||
NFL RedZone | $74.99 / month | $74.99 / month | $5.99 / month | $69.99 / month | $50 / month | $72.99 / month |
Note: Sling TV carries FOX and NBC, but only in select markets. Dallas is one of the TV markets that gets both FOX and NBC with Sling TV Blue.
Top picks
If you live near Dallas, you will be able to watch the Cowboys with any of these live TV streaming providers.
Fubo, carries KDFW-TV FOX 4 Dallas and offers complete local coverage for Cowboys fans in Dallas Ft. Worth, including Thursday Night Football on local affiliates instead of Amazon Prime.
Pros
- Complete local coverage for Dallas based Cowboy fans
- Carries most important NFL channels: FOX, CBS, ESPN, and NBC
- Upgrade to Fubo Elite to watch the handful of Cowboys games that FOX broadcasts in 4K.
- offers Bally Sports Southwest for watching in-market Rangers, Stars, and Mavericks games.
- Carries College sports channels need to watch the Longhorns, Horned Frogs, and Aggies this season, including in 4K.
Cons
- Only 1,000 hours of DVR storage
- Lacks TNT and TBS
Even though Sling Blue doesn’t offer total NFL coverage, we recommend it here because, with the cost of streaming services rising, some fans will want a budget option.
Sling offers upgrades for watching ESPN and Longhorn Network, but there are better options for streaming both channels.
Pros
- Carries FOX and NBC affiliates in Dallas
- Watch many 1 pm and 4pm regular season Cowboy games from Dallas
- Watch Thanksgiving day game from Dallas
- Watch America’s team when they appear on Sunday Night Football with Sling Blue.
Cons
- Sling TV Blue will not get you access to ABC or ESPN, so Monday Night Football is out.
- ESPN available with Sling Orange, but hard to justify the cost vs. competition
- CBS can be added with a special air antenna, or by signing up separately for Paramount+.
- No 4K option
- No local Dallas pro sports
DIRECTV STREAM offers full local Dallas Cowboys coverage for NFL fans in the Dallas/Ft. Worth TV market.
Pros
- Full local coverage for Cowboys fans in Dallas
- DIRECTV STREAM features all the channels you need to stream the biggest NFL games.
- Carries Bally Sports Southwest, which is the local RSN for Dallas Sports. If you want to watch the Mavericks (NBA), Rangers (MLB), and Stars (NHL), DirecTV Stream has a lot to offer in-market Dallas sports fans.
- Watch Texas college teams like the Longhorns, Aggies, and Horned Frogs.
Cons
- No 4K option
- Clunky user interface vs. competition
- Expensive DTV “Choice” upgrade required to access regional sports networks
Hulu + Live TV will give Cowboys fans the channels they need to watch the games every Sunday, as well as Thursday Night Football on local affiliates.
Pros
- Full local Cowboys coverage from Dallas market
- Excellent college sports coverage, including Texas, Aggies, and Horned Frogs games
- The ESPN+ bundle opens up an important avenue of additional sports options, including the UFC and out-of-market NHL action.
Cons
- Lacks the regional sports networks needed to watch Mavs, Rangers, and Stars regular season games
- No 4K option
- Ordering UFC PPV direct from Hulu app is very buggy
I’ve written several times on this site about how impressive YouTube TV is as a platform for watching sports, and NFL in particular. The service carries the most important channels for watching NFL action, has a 4K package, and even a mobile feature for fantasy football fans. The problem for Cowboys fans hoping to watch the team in 4K is the NFL has lagged way behind in 4K broadcasts.
In fact, it’s much easier to watch the Horned Frogs in 4K on FOX than it is the Cowboys.
Pros
- Full local coverage for Cowboys fans in Dallas
- Watch the Cowboys out-of-market with Sunday Ticket
- Excellent college football coverage, including the CFP
- Carries the Super Bowl and NFL Playoffs
Cons
- The downside is you need a Google account to start using YouTube TV.
- Lacks the regional sports networks needed to watch Mavs, Rangers, and Stars regular season games
NFL+ offers full local coverage of the Cowboys season, plus big games like Monday Night Football, the NFL playoffs, and Super Bowl LVIII on mobile devices only.
Pros
- Excellent price
- Coverage of every big NFL game
- Full local coverage for fans in Dallas
- Audio for every NFL team
Cons
- Only available on mobile and tablets
Out-of-market
On the one hand the Cowboys are on TV a lot, so some fans, even out-of-market, may be content with the games they get on national broadcasts, plus the extensive regional coverage the Cowboys enjoy. For the diehards, who want to watch every game from the comfort of home, NFL Sunday Ticket is the play.
YouTube TV owns the rights to Sunday Ticket this season, which means the NFL’s premium package will be easier to stream than last year when NFL fans had to deal with the “satellite rule” imposed by DIRECTV STREAM.
Pros
- Watch regular season Cowboys games out-of-market
Cons
- No 4K option
- Blackouts for the biggest games (available on national TV)
Cowboys player to watch – #77
Without question, the player I will be watching when I tune in to Cowboys games this season will be #77 Tyron Smith, the LT protecting Dak Prescott’s blind side. We will learn a lot about the state of Cowboys football based not only on how the former USC Trojan standout plays, but also by whether he plays. Smith is an eight time Pro Bowl lineman, but has only played in 17 games the last three seasons. Bleacher Report ranked him as the most likely bust on the Cowboys roster, but his upside remains tremendous. I am rooting for Tyron Smith to have renascence season
How to watch the Dallas Cowboys on a Roku device
Roku has a dedicated Dallas Cowboys channel called Cowboys Now, but you can’t actually stream Cowboys games on it. Say what?
I own a Roku device, and Roku has a dedicated Cowboys channel, but it won’t get me actual Cowboys games?
Yes, that is correct. Cowboys Now only features Cowboys analysis and entertainment, as well as pre and post game coverage. Many Cowboys fans will enjoy this content, but the Cowboys Now channel does not have the TV rights to broadcast actual Dallas games.
Time needed: 20 minutes
Watching the Dallas Cowboys on a Roku device is easy. All of the live TV streaming services we list above support most Roku devices, including our top pick, DIRECTV STREAM. Here are the steps to take to watch the Cowboys on Roku.
- Signup for a live TV streaming service on your laptop or mobile phone.
Visit your preferred streaming service’s website, and either create an account, or signup. Signup for DIRECTV STREAM, here. Write down your login credentials on a piece of paper.
- Go to your Roku TV and grab the remote. Press the Home button on your Roku remote.
Look for “streaming channels” on the home screen and find your live TV streaming service.
- Find the “Streaming Channels” option on the left sidebar of the Roku home screen.
This option will help you search for, and find, your live TV streaming app. Press “ok” when you have found your streaming app.
- Pressing “ok” will highlight the streaming service you have chosen. Here is an example with YouTube TV.
- Use the “Add Channel” option to add your live TV streaming service app to your Roku library.
You will see the icon and option to “Add Channel” when you select the streaming service. You can also add channels to Roku from a web browser by visiting the Roku channel store.
- Open the live TV streaming service app and follow the prompts to login.
Login to the streaming service app on Roku.
- Find the channel the Cowboys game is on
We list the channel, start time, and streaming options in this Cowboys viewing guide. It will usually be FOX.
- Make sure you are in the viewing territory for this Cowboys game.
Use a site like 506 Sports to confirm you are in the viewing territory for this game. This step doesn’t apply if the Cowboys are playing on Monday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, or Thursday Night Football, as these are national TV games. If you aren’t in the viewing territory, you can watch the game by adding NFL Sunday Ticket.TV to a DIRECTV STREAM subscription.
- Watch the game
If you are in-market for the game, or if the game is on national TV, finding the channel the game is on on your live TV streaming service is all you need to do to start live streaming the game! Finding the channel lineup is easy and intuitive on most streaming services, with fuboTV being the easiest to navigate in our opinion.
FAQ
Yes, almost every Dallas Cowboys game will be broadcast in the Austin TV market. The two most important channels will be KEYE-TV CBS 42 Austin and KTBC-TV FOX 7 Austin. Hulu+ Live TV, fuboTV, DIRECTV STREAM, and YouTube TV all carry these channels in the base package.
Cowboys fans who want to watch games on their phones, and save a ton of money in the process, should take advantage of NFL+, which offers complete local coverage of the Cowboy’s season all the way through the NFL playoffs for just $40 per year. In addition to the bargain subscription price, NFL+ offers a 7 day free trial.
In Dallas, the Flagship radio stations for listening to Cowboys games is KMVK 107.5 FM for Spanish Language broadcasts, and KLRD 105.3 for English language broadcasts with the legendary Brad Sham. For a list of radio stations that carry Cowboys games across Texas and the southwest, visit the Cowboys Radio Network website.