U.S. military service members score free access to all NFL games this season

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The nation's military personnel can enjoy watching a full season of NFL games on the American Forces Network after getting approval from the professional sports league.

Every NFL game will be featured on the AFN Now app live and on demand, which enables military personnel to stream their favorite teams nearly anywhere and at any time free of charge.

"The NFL's continued partnership and support of U.S. military audiences overseas has been tremendous," AFN Broadcast Center Director Jim Alexander said in a Department of Defense news release Tuesday.

"The game access the NFL has provided U.S. service members and their families this year is beyond measure and so appreciated by our military forces serving overseas," Alexander said.

AFN television also will air games live, starting with Thursday night's NFL opener between the two-time defending NFL champion Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens .

The Thursday night game is a rematch of last season's AFC championship won by the Chiefs, 17-10.

"This is our second full season covering the NFL on AFN. New and die-hard military football fans are going to be thrilled," AFN Digital Media Chief Kim Antos said.

"In addition to all 272 regular-season match-ups and the post-season playoffs, this year's coverage of AFN Now includes access to the NFL Network's own content, archived games, highlights and analysis, all available anytime," Antos said.

The free broadcasts and on-demand access via the AFN Now app will continue through the Super Bowl.

Service members can access games between 24 and 48 hours after their live broadcasts using the AFN Now app, which will make the games available for seven days.

Service members also can stream NFL games on up to four devices, including smartphones, tablets and streaming devices, such as Roku, Apple TV and Amazon 's Fire Stick.

Service members can download the AFN Now app without charge and register their respective accounts to view the NFL games and other content.