The San Francisco 49ers will live stream all four preseason games this season, starting with the August 9 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, according to a report by NBC Sports Bay Area.
The 49ers become the first team to activate streaming rights with their local broadcast partner, KPIX 5. Live streams of the exhibition matchups will be made available for free via 49ers.com and the team's official mobile app.
Update: Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area now reports that 49ers.com's live streaming of preseason games will only be available in the local broadcast market, which still leaves out-of-market fans needing to subscribe to NFL Game Pass or find other options to watch the four matchups.
The NFL used to offer a reasonably-priced preseason-only option for fans but has since only made it available within its more expensive NFL Game Pass service, which offers on-demand regular season and postseason games after the conclusion of each matchup to U.S. subscribers.
"The 49ers are fortunate to play in one of the most connected markets in the world where our fans expect seamless engagement with team content," said 49ers president Al Guido via a statement issued by the team. "Through our partnership with KPIX, the fan-first mentality of the NFL and the talented in-house agency of 49ers Studios, we are proud to further strengthen our community connection by delivering dynamic game, team and partner content to our fans in ways that evolve alongside their viewing habits."
49ers preseason broadcasts feature Ted Robinson doing the play-by-play with Tim Ryan providing the color commentary and Dennis O'Donnell as the sideline reporter.
Below are the 49ers' four exhibition matchups.
Aug. 9, 7:00 p.m.: 49ers host Dallas Cowboys
Aug. 18, 5:00 p.m.: 49ers at Houston Texans
Aug. 25, 1:30 p.m.: 49ers at Indianapolis Colts
Aug. 30, 7:00 p.m.: 49ers host Los Angeles Chargers
* All times Pacific