TL;DR: Most Baltimore Ravens games air on CBS, which means Paramount+ (from about $7.99 a month) or a cheap antenna covers the bulk of the season, and a live TV bundle like YouTube TV or Fubo covers all of it. If you only care about Zay Flowers because he's on your fantasy roster, NFL RedZone through a bundle or NFL+ on your phone is the cheaper play.
Okay. Now the version for people who actually want to understand what they're paying for.
Why the Ravens are one of the easier teams to follow
I say this as someone who rotates through streaming apps the way other people rotate throw pillows: the Ravens are a relatively kind team to follow without cable. They're in the AFC, and the AFC's Sunday afternoon package belongs to CBS. So in a normal season, the majority of Baltimore's games land on one network, and that network has a streaming service that doesn't cost a fortune.
The exceptions are what trip people up. When the Ravens host an NFC team, the game can land on Fox. Lamar Jackson is a ratings draw, so Baltimore gets a healthy share of primetime: Sunday Night Football on NBC, Monday Night Football on ESPN and ABC, Thursday Night Football on Amazon. The league also cross-flexes games between CBS and Fox when it feels like it. So 'mostly CBS' is true, but 'only CBS' will leave you scrambling a couple of times a month.
Option 1: Paramount+ for the CBS games
Paramount+ streams the NFL on CBS game being shown in your local market. Essential, the ad-supported tier, runs around $7.99 a month; Premium is around $12.99. My understanding is that the live NFL games are included even on the cheaper tier, while the full 24/7 feed of your local CBS station is Premium-only. Confirm on Paramount's official site before you commit, because they've moved those lines before.
The catch: you get the game your local CBS affiliate is showing, not necessarily the Ravens. In Baltimore and most of Maryland, that's the Ravens nearly every week. In Denver, the affiliate picks the Broncos. Paramount+ is a local-market tool, not a follow-your-team-anywhere tool.
Honest opinion on the app: it has gotten better. Two years ago the live feed would buffer at the worst possible moment; last season it was stable for me on Roku and Apple TV. Still not my favorite interface, but it does the job for the price.
Option 2: An antenna, which I keep recommending and people keep ignoring
If you live within range of Baltimore's broadcast towers (or DC's, which overlap for a lot of Maryland), a $25 to $40 flat antenna pulls in WJZ (CBS), WBFF (Fox), WBAL (NBC), and WMAR (ABC) in full HD for free, forever. That's every Ravens game except the ESPN-only and Amazon ones.
It's the least glamorous item on this list and the one with the best cost-per-game. The picture is also, quietly, better than most streams, because it's uncompressed broadcast rather than whatever bitrate your app negotiated with your Wi-Fi at kickoff.
Option 3: A live TV bundle if you want everything in one place
This is the 'I don't want to think about it' tier, and I say that with respect.
- YouTube TV (around $82.99/mo) has CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network. It's also the home of NFL Sunday Ticket as an add-on, which matters if you're a Ravens fan living outside Maryland.
- Fubo (Pro tier, roughly $85/mo) carries the same broadcast networks plus ESPN, and it's the one I'd pick if you also want a pile of regional sports channels.
- Hulu + Live TV (around $89.99/mo with ads, Disney+ and ESPN bundled in) makes sense if your household already lives inside Disney's apps.
- DirecTV Stream sells a sports-focused genre pack (MySports, around $69.99/mo) that trims the entertainment channels you'd never watch anyway.
- Sling is the budget option (Blue from about $45.99/mo, Orange + Blue about $65.99), but Sling does not carry CBS. For an AFC team, that's a dealbreaker unless you pair it with an antenna or Paramount+.
All of these include local channels only where the service has the rights, which is nearly everywhere at this point but not literally everywhere. Type your ZIP code in before you subscribe.
Option 4: Sunday Ticket if you're a Ravens fan somewhere else
NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube gives you every out-of-market Sunday afternoon game. If you're a Ravens fan in Phoenix, this is the product that solves your problem. It's sold as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers and as a standalone through YouTube Primetime Channels. The season price has hovered in the few-hundred-dollar range and changes yearly, so check YouTube's official page for the current number and the student discount.
What it does not do: primetime games, which stay with their national networks. And if you're in the Baltimore market, Sunday Ticket doesn't help, because the Ravens are already on your local CBS.
Option 5: The primetime and streaming-exclusive games
This is where a Ravens schedule gets expensive if you're piecing things together.
- Sunday Night Football is on NBC and streams on Peacock (Premium around $10.99/mo). Peacock also gets a handful of exclusive NFL games each season.
- Monday Night Football is on ESPN and often ABC. ESPN's standalone app (ESPN Unlimited, $29.99/mo) streams it, or an antenna picks up the ABC simulcast when there is one.
- Thursday Night Football is on Amazon Prime Video ($14.99/mo or $139/yr, included with Prime), along with the Black Friday game.
- Christmas Day games live on Netflix.
If you'd only subscribe to these for the Ravens, my advice is: subscribe the week of, watch, cancel. I do this with Peacock every year and nobody at NBC has ever complained.
Option 6: NFL+ for the fantasy crowd
NFL+ ($6.99/mo, or $14.99 for Premium) streams local and primetime games live on phones and tablets, plus full replays afterward. Premium adds condensed 40-minute replays, which is genuinely how I'd watch a Wednesday-morning catch-up. The limitation is real, though: live games are mobile-only, no casting to the TV.
Where NFL+ shines is exactly a Zay Flowers situation. If you're tracking his snaps and targets for fantasy, the replay and the coaches film in Premium tell you more than any highlight package will.
Late September 2026: the Zay Flowers question (time-sensitive)
This is the part that will age, so treat it accordingly. As of this week, Flowers has been on the Ravens' injury report, and reports had him on a pitch count when he did suit up. Whether he plays in any given week comes down to the Friday injury report and the inactives list, which the team posts roughly 90 minutes before kickoff. Baltimore's official site and the NFL app both push those. Don't trust a Tuesday post; trust the Sunday inactives.
If you're a fantasy manager deciding whether to start him, the smart watching move is RedZone (an add-on with most live TV services) rather than the full broadcast. You'll see every Flowers target the moment it matters without sitting through three quarters of a game you don't otherwise care about.
What I'd actually do
For a Baltimore-area fan: antenna, plus Paramount+ if your reception is spotty, then Peacock and Prime Video only in the weeks you need them. Under $20 most months.
For an out-of-market fan: YouTube TV plus Sunday Ticket, or Fubo plus a la carte Peacock and Prime. More money, less friction.
For a fantasy manager who just wants to know whether Flowers gets his eight targets: NFL+ and RedZone, and keep the rest of your money.
FAQ
Is there a free way to watch Ravens games? Yes, an antenna, for any game on CBS, Fox, NBC, or ABC. Most live TV services also offer free trials, though those rarely last a whole season.
Does Paramount+ show every Ravens game? No. Only the CBS games airing in your local market. Fox, NBC, ESPN, and Amazon games need separate coverage.
Can I listen instead? The Ravens Radio Network airs on WBAL (1090 AM / 101.5 FM) and 98 Rock in Baltimore, and the Ravens app streams the audio call.
Which service has NFL RedZone? YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling all sell it as an add-on, typically around $11 a month or a flat season price. NFL+ Premium has included it in recent seasons too; check the current plan page.
That's the map. I'll be over here toggling Peacock back on the week the Ravens draw a Sunday night slot, then off again, like a responsible adult.
— Priya Raman