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How to Stream Super Bowl 50 for Free on Your Apple Devices

Super Bowl 50 (yes, 50 and not L, because the NFL has switched from Roman to Arabic numerals) will take place 7 February 2016 at 6:30 PM EST. If you want to watch the showdown between the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos, but don’t have traditional TV service, the good news is that CBS will be streaming the game for free to viewers in the United States.

Here’s how to stream the game on any of your Apple devices:

  • Mac: On the Mac, open a Web browser and go to CBSSports.com. There should be a prominent link on the front page when the time comes. Note that the CBS Sports video player requires Flash. If you don’t wish to install Flash (we don’t advise it), use the Google Chrome Web browser, which has a self-contained Flash player.

  • iPad: iPad users can watch the game with the free CBS Sports app. Easy.

  • iPhone: The bad news for iPhone users is that you must be a Verizon Wireless subscriber to watch the game. But if you are, you can watch the game live in the free NFL app. You can stream the game over Wi-Fi instead of Verizon’s cellular network. The only upside of this limitation is that you don’t have to log in to your Verizon account in the app.

  • Apple TV: No brand loyalty is required to watch the Super Bowl on the Apple TV. Find the CBS Sports app in the Apple TV’s App Store, download it, and open it (CBS has two other Apple TV apps, CBS and CBS News, that won’t do what you want). I imagine that the Super Bowl stream will be prominently featured on game day.

If you’re outside of the United States on Super Bowl Sunday, your options depend on the country you’re in. The BBC and Sky both have broadcast rights to the game in the UK, so you should be able to watch it in their respective apps if you have the appropriate license and/or subscription: iPlayer for the BBC and Sky Go. Likewise, CTV owns the Super Bowl rights in Canada, so you should be able to watch the game on CTV Go if you’re a subscriber. If you know of details for other countries, let us know in the comments and we’ll add them.

And if you only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, you’ll be able to find them all on the YouTube AdBlitz channel via whatever device you prefer for YouTube.

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