The friends have been invited. The snacks have been bought. The bets have been placed. You're finally ready to enjoy the Super Bowl.
There's just one thing. How are you going to watch it? These days, watching a major live television event isn't as easy as just turning on the TV. Well, it is, but with people increasingly cutting the cord and turning to an exclusively streaming lifestyle, that's not the only game in town anymore.
Here are five ways to watch the Super Bowl this year, whether you only own a TV or just a tablet.
1. Live TV
If you own a TV and have basic cable too, watching the Super Bowl is easy for you. The Super Bowl airs at 6:30 p.m. on NBC. So all you have to do is make sure you know what channel NBC is in your area, pop it on when the time comes and you'll be good to go.
2. Stream NBC Through Your Cable Provider
You also have the option of streaming NBC through select cable providers. However, you still have to know someone or be that someone that has a subscription to a cable provider if you're going this route, so there are probably better options for you included in this list.
3. NBC Sports Live Extra
This year, NBC is offering 11 continuous hours of Super Bowl content through its sporting events streaming app NBC Sports Live Extra. This will include the broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX, Katy Perry's sure-to-be-crazy Halftime Show and even the post-Super Bowl airing of a new episode of The Blacklist. Usually, you'd have to log in with your cable service provider to access NBC Sports Live Extra, but "Super Stream Sunday" is part of a special promotion on the part of NBC's "TV Everywhere" campaign where anyone can watch the Super Bowl for free on their desktops or tablets.
4. NFL Mobile App
If you're unlucky enough to be traveling during the Super Bowl this year and need to watch the big game on the go, it gets a bit more complicated. NBC Digital doesn't own the rights to stream NFL content through mobile, so you unfortunately don't get to access the aforementioned free streaming services. Those rights belong to Verizon exclusively, so if you have to go mobile, you can do so through the NFL Mobile app. With a Verizon Wireless subscription and $4.99 a month, you can watch live NFL games on Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights. If you only need to use the app for one night for the Super Bowl, five bucks isn't a terrible amount of money to shell out.
5. NFL Game Pass
The NFL didn't forget about those American football-loving fans that don't live in the United States or Mexico but still want to catch the Super Bowl. You can subscribe to NFL Game Pass, which gives you access to all of the season's NFL games, including the Super Bowl, along with its Halftime Show and epic commercials. Some international channels are also broadcasting the big game, and you can find a list of them here.
6. If You Only Want to Watch the Commercials
If the only reason you watch the Super Bowl anyway is for the commercials, you might just want to stay tuned to your computer tonight instead of wasting your time on the big game. Of course, you can always just Google or search for the commercials on YouTube. However, if you want something a bit more streamlined, you can check out NBC Sports' Tumblr and Hulu's Toyota AdZone to find all of the Super Bowl commercials in one place.
