Notre Dame fans have an entirely new way of watching the Fighting Irish in 2021.
For the first time since the Fighting Irish entered into a partnership with NBC Sports in 1991, the team's games will be available to stream through a dedicated streaming service site: Peacock. That includes Saturday's game against Toledo, which will be the first (and, in the case of the 2021 season, only) game to be broadcast exclusively via stream.
“Dating back to airing Sunday football replays with Lindsey Nelson, we have always strived for innovation in the media space — our partnership with NBC and Peacock only solidifies that mission,” Notre Dame vice athletics director Jack Swarbrick said in a statement announcing the move. “Bringing Notre Dame Football to Peacock is just the next step in the evolution of our relationship.”
MORE: Watch select Notre Dame football games live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)
Said Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports:
“We are delighted to stream Notre Dame Football on Peacock,” said Pete Bevacqua, Chairman, NBC Sports. “Peacock exemplifies how we’re innovating as a company, and Notre Dame has consistently been a tremendous partner in making progressive choices for sports programming.”
It's a decidedly non-traditional move for Notre Dame, whose status as an independent and as one of college football's all-time blue blood programs lend credence to the site. It makes sense, however, considering the proliferation of streaming services as more and more consumers cut ties with traditional cable companies.
Regardless, here's everything you need to know about Notre Dame's new home on Peacock, how to watch the Fighting Irish play in 2021 and more:
What is Peacock?
Peacock is NBCUniversal's dedicated streaming service, where all NBC programs can be watched for free. The site, which also provides coverage of the Premier League, Olympics and WrestleMania, comes in three packages: Peacock, Peacock Premium and Peacock Premium Plus.
Anyone can sign up for a free account of Peacock, which provides access to movies and TV shows; channels available only on Peacock; daily news, sports and pop culture; kids shows and movies; and Telemundo Spanish-language series.
Peacock is supported on a variety of browsers, mobile and tablet devices, connected TVs, game consoles and streaming devices. Check the full list here.
How to watch Notre Dame on Peacock
NBC Sports holds the rights to all Notre Dame home games, all of which will be available on NBC and, starting on Sept. 11, Peacock. FuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial, is another option. The good news is that anyone can sign up for a free account of Peacock; the bad news is that alone won't be enough to watch Notre Dame football.
In order to watch Notre Dame football via Peacock, fans will need to subscribe to Peacock Premium ($4.99 a month) or Peacock Premium Plus ($9.99 a month). Subscribing to Premium access — or Premium Plus access, which gets rid of commercials — will allow fans to stream Notre Dame home games in 2021. Otherwise, fans will have to watch the game on TV or another streaming service.
Notre Dame football schedule 2021
Below is Notre Dame's 2021 schedule, including all games that will be broadcast on Peacock Premium.
| Game | Time (ET) | TV channel | |
| Sept. 4: Notre Dame 41, Florida State 38 | 7:30 p.m. | ABC, fuboTV | |
| Sept. 11: vs. Toledo | 2:30 p.m. | Peacock | |
| Sept. 18: vs. Purdue | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, fuboTV, Peacock | |
| Sept. 25: vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (Chicago) | Noon | Fox, fuboTV | |
| Oct. 2: vs. No. 7 Cincinnati | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, fuboTV, Peacock | |
| Oct. 9: at No. 19 Virginia Tech | TBD | ACC Network, fuboTV | |
| Oct. 23: vs. No. 14 USC | 7:30 p.. | NBC, fuboTV, Peacock | |
| Oct. 30: vs. No. 24 North Carolina | 7:30 p.. | NBC, fuboTV, Peacock | |
| Nov. 6: vs. Navy | 3:30 p.m. | NBC, fuboTV, Peacock | |
| Nov. 13: at Virginia | TBD | TBD | |
| Nov. 20: vs. Georgia Tech | 2:30 p.m. | NBC, fuboTV, Peacock | |
| Nov. 27: at Stanford | TBD | TBD |
