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The road to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California goes through the AFC Championship. After an exciting NFL Divisional Playoffs, the last two teams left in the AFC go head-to-head to glory on the gridiron. The winner gets the AFC Lamar Hunt Trophy and a trip to the Super Bowl, while the losing team retools and tries again next season.
How to Watch Patriots vs. Broncos Online, At a Glance:
- Date: Sunday, Jan. 25
- Start time: 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT
- TV channel: CBS
- Livestream: DirecTV (with a five-day free trial), Paramount+, Fubo (with a five-day free trial), Hulu + Live TV (with a three-day free trial)
Both teams are equally matched with the same regular season record, while the Pats lead with their offense with quarterback Drake Maye at the helm and the Broncos lead with their defense with linebacker Nik Bonitto taking charge. And in an unfortunate turn, Denver’s starting quarterback Bo Nix is out for the rest of the season with a fractured right ankle that occurred during last week’s win against the Buffalo Bills.
For the 2026 AFC Championship, the New England Patriots (14-3) take on the Denver Broncos (14-3) at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado, on Sunday (Jan. 25).
When Does 2026 AFC Championship Start?
The Patriots-Broncos game broadcasts live, with kickoff at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. The game airs on CBS and livestreams on Paramount+.
Where to Watch 2026 AFC Championship Online for Free
For cord-cutters, there are a few ways to watch New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos, especially if you want to watch for free. DirecTV has a five-day free trial, while other streaming services, such as Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, offer a free trial so you can watch CBS for free.
Keep reading for more details on how to watch the New England-Denver game online.
NFL games that air live on CBS, livestream on Paramount+ too. If you don’t already have a Paramount+ subscription, the streaming service starts at $8.99 per month (or $89.99 per year), while it grants you access NFL on CBS. With Paramount+, you’ll get access to a vast selection of TV shows and movies, live sports, 24-hour news with CBS News and more.
A subscription to DirecTV — which comes with CBS for New England vs. Denver — gets you access to live TV, local and cable channels, starting at $69.99 for the “MySports” package. The service even offers a five-day free trial to watch for free if you sign up now.
You can watch local networks such as FOX, NBC and ABC, while you can watch many of the best sports networks, including ESPN, FOX Sports, NFL Network, NBA TV, NHL Network, Big Ten Network, TNT Sports, The Golf Channel, USA Network and many others.
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu + Live TV doesn’t just let you watch everything within the Hulu library, it also gives you more than 95 live TV channels including CBS to watch sports at home.
The New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos game on CBS is available to watch with Hulu + Live TV too. Prices for the cable alternative start at $89.99 per month, while each plan comes with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited at no additional cost.
Hulu + Live TV might be best for those who want all of these streaming services together in one bundle. It features many other networks, including ABC, Hallmark Channel, BET, CMT, Disney Channel, NBC, FOX Sports and more channels.
To watch New England vs. Denver on CBS, Fubo starts at $48.99 for the first month, $73.99 per month afterwards (the streamer’s current deal) with more than 200 channels — including local and cable — that are streamable on smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and on web browsers.
The service even gets you live access to local broadcast networks including NBC, FOX and ABC, while it has dozens of cable networks, such as ESPN, Bravo, CMT, ID, TV Land, VH1, TLC, E!, FOX Sports, FX, Ion, OWN, Paramount Network and other networks.
Which Celebrities Are Making Appearances During 2026 AFC Championship?
It’s likely there might be a number of celebrities and recording artists in attendance during the game, such as Patriots fans Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and others; as well as Broncos fans Kate Hudson, Trey Parker, Matt Stone and others. Tune-in to find out who’s at the NFL game.
How to Buy 2026 AFC Championship Tickets Online
Want to attend the New England-Denver game in person? There are still last-minute tickets to the AFC Championship Game available via Vivid Seats (get $20 off purchases of $200 and over with code BB30), SeatGeek (your first purchases can get $10 off ticket order $250 and with code BILLBOARD10), StubHub and Gametime (score $20 off ticket orders of $150 and over with code SAVE20). Prices vary depending on the city and seats available.
Moreover, you can save $150 off when you spend $500 with promo code BILLBOARD150, or $300 off when you spend $1,000 with promo code BILLBOARD300 at TicketNetwork.com.
Starting at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT, AFC Championship 2026: New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos broadcasts on CBS. It’s available to livestream on DirecTV for free.
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