Packers fans outside the local broadcast area will be able to catch two of the three exhibition games live on cable TV.
As spring practices begin winding down this week around the NFL, attention is starting to shift to training camp and the preseason. That is the case for fans of specific teams as well as the NFL and its broadcasting arm, NFL Network, which announced on Monday that it will air the broadcasts of 22 preseason games live on the channel this August.
Fans of the Green Bay Packers should be pleased by this development, as two of the Packers’ three exhibition games are among these nationally-televised contests. The two are the Packers’ first and third preseason games, road dates against the San Francisco 49ers on Friday, August 12th and the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday, August 25th.
The game against the 49ers may not be shown in its entirety, with NFL Network carrying the Atlanta Falcons–Detroit Lions game starting at 5:00 PM Central. Green Bay and San Francisco are scheduled to kick off at 5:30 PM Pacific (7:30 Central), so expect NFL Network to switch over to the Packers-49ers broadcast once the earlier game has concluded.
There is no conflict for the Packers-Chiefs game, however; that game will kick off at 7:00 PM Central Time but it is the only contest scheduled to be shown live on NFL Network that evening. In fact, there are only two games taking place that evening, a departure from the days when the NFL would have all of its teams wrap up their preseasons on the same day. After the NFL dropped its fourth preseason game in favor of a 17th regular season game, teams now have an extra week between the exhibition finale and the start of the regular season. This has led to preseason finales moving away from Thursday nights, and in 2022 most teams will finish up their preseason slates either on Friday (August 26) or on Saturday (August 27) night.
The Packers’ lone home game of the preseason will see them hosting the New Orleans Saints on Friday, August 19th. That game is currently not scheduled for a national broadcast, and will be available on Packers TV Network affiliate stations.