The San Francisco 49ers host the Houston Texans this Sunday, August 14, in their preseason opener, and for fans outside the Bay Area, there will be a couple viewing options. The 4 p.m. PT game will be broadcast on CBS in the Bay Area, but will be broadcast nationally on NFL Network. If you are unable to watch on Sunday, NFL Network will re-air the game on Tuesday, August 16, at 1 p.m. PT.
The NFL also offers their NFL GamePass package. For people in the United States, the package includes live and archived video of preseason games, and archived video (but no live) for regular season games. The NFL used to offer a preseason specific package, but now bundles it with the regular season. That being said, you can avoid the cost for a single week if you use the free seven-day trial. Important note on that: if you sign up for the trial, I recommend not signing up until this Sunday so that you get the Sunday preseason game and then next week’s Saturday game together. Might as well get the most bang for your free trial! And don’t forget to cancel it at the end of the trial period.
It is also worth noting that NFL’s Red Zone channel will offer a limited free preview each week this preseason (as well as Week 1 of the regular season). It will be one day each week, including August 11, 18, 27, and September 1. The 49ers don’t play on those first three days, but do play on the 1st (along with every other team). That will bounce between games, and with a couple games going on at the same time as the 49ers, you won’t get full coverage of the 49ers game. But it’s something to keep in mind.