Quick Answer: NBC is a local broadcast station, not a national cable channel, so there is no single number that works everywhere. In most cities it sits on 4, 5, 10 or 11 over the air. It is free with an antenna, permanently, with no account. The part that catches people out is Peacock. NBC owns Peacock, and Peacock carries Sunday Night Football and a lot of NBC content, but a Peacock subscription is not the same as having your local NBC station, and in most of the country it will not give you your local news or every NBC show live.
Looking for NBCSN? That is NBC Sports Network, a separate pay TV channel. As of October 6, 2026 it is on YouTube TV, Fubo and Xfinity. It has not been announced for DIRECTV or DISH. Jump to the NBCSN section.
Why There Is No National NBC Channel Number
NBC does not broadcast to your television. Your local affiliate does. There are more than 200 of them, each independently assigned a broadcast frequency and a displayed channel number, and each running its own local news, weather and syndicated programming around the national NBC schedule.
That is why “what channel is NBC” has a different answer in Denver than in Detroit, and why your cable provider gives it a completely different number again from the over-the-air one. ABC works the same way, and we keep a list of ABC local channel numbers by city too.
NBC Over the Air in the Largest Markets
These are the displayed channel numbers you will see after an antenna scan. Your cable or satellite number will be different.
| Market | Station | Over-the-air number |
|---|---|---|
| New York | WNBC | 4 |
| Los Angeles | KNBC | 4 |
| Chicago | WMAQ | 5 |
| Philadelphia | WCAU | 10 |
| Dallas and Fort Worth | KXAS | 5 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | KNTV | 11 |
| Washington DC | WRC | 4 |
| Detroit | WDIV | 4 |
| Atlanta | WXIA | 11 |
| Seattle | KING | 5 |
| Denver | KUSA | 9 |
| Miami | WTVJ | 6 |
| Minneapolis and Saint Paul | KARE | 11 |
| Phoenix | KPNX | 12 |
Note: if your market is not listed, we are not going to guess. Run an antenna scan, or look your provider number up directly in our Channel Finder, which handles local stations by ZIP code.
The Peacock Confusion, Settled
This is the single most common mistake people make with NBC, so it is worth being precise about.
| What you want | Does Peacock give it to you? |
|---|---|
| Sunday Night Football | Yes. Every SNF game simulcast on NBC also streams on Peacock. |
| NBC shows the day after they air | Yes, next-day for most of the primetime schedule. |
| Your local NBC station, live | Only in some markets, mostly the ones with an NBC-owned station. |
| Your local NBC news | Usually not. That is the affiliate’s own programming. |
| Everything NBC airs, live, everywhere | No. |
So Peacock is an excellent way to watch Sunday Night Football and catch up on NBC series. It is a poor substitute for the station itself. If what you want is your local NBC, an antenna does the job better and costs nothing per month.
What Channel Is NBCSN? It Is Not Your NBC Station
NBCSN is NBC Sports Network, a pay TV sports channel. It is not your local NBC station, and an antenna will not pick it up. NBCUniversal closed the first NBCSN at the end of 2021 and launched a new one on November 17, 2025.
The new channel has no national number, and several big providers still do not carry it. This is where it stood when we checked on October 6, 2026.
| Provider | Carries NBCSN? | How to find it |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube TV | Yes, since launch day | Streaming services have no channel numbers. Search for NBCSN in the live guide. |
| Xfinity | Yes, added soon after launch | The number changes by market. Say “NBCSN” into the voice remote, or search your guide. |
| Fubo | Yes, in the main English plan and Fubo Sports | No channel number. It arrived in summer 2026, after Fubo’s June deal with NBCUniversal. |
| DIRECTV | Not announced | In May 2026 DIRECTV’s support team told customers to watch its news account for updates. |
| DISH, Spectrum, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV | Not announced | We found no launch notice from any of them. |
NBCSN shows live NBA, WNBA and MLB games, Premier League soccer, college football and basketball, and golf. Many of those games also stream on Peacock. It does not carry Peacock’s exclusive NFL games, and Sunday Night Football stays on your local NBC station.
YouTube TV now sells more than one plan, so check that yours includes the sports channels. Our YouTube TV channel lineup lists what each plan carries.
Worth knowing: a channel called NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports California or NBC Sports Philadelphia is a third thing again. Those are regional sports networks, the channels that carry local teams. Each one is sold only in its home region.
Sources: NBC Sports’ launch announcement of November 13, 2025, Fubo’s notice of its NBCUniversal agreement dated June 10, 2026, and a DIRECTV community forum reply of May 5, 2026.
Getting NBC Without Cable
| Route | Local NBC included? | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Antenna | Yes, if you are in range | Nothing. One-off cost of about $30 to $50 |
| YouTube TV | Yes in most markets | Full live TV price |
| Hulu + Live TV | Yes in most markets | Full live TV price |
| Fubo | Coming back market by market after a June 2026 deal. Check your ZIP code first | Full live TV price |
| DIRECTV STREAM | Yes in most markets | Full live TV price |
| Sling TV | Only a handful of cities | Cheapest, but check your market first |
| Peacock alone | Not reliably | Lowest, but see the section above |
Sling is the one worth checking before you subscribe rather than after. It carries local NBC in only a small number of markets, and it is the service people most often buy expecting locals and then find they do not have them.
Fubo needs the same check. It went without NBC until a new deal in June 2026, and local NBC stations have been coming back market by market since then. Confirm yours on Fubo’s site before you sign up. Our Fubo channel lineup has the plans and prices.
What the Antenna Actually Gets You
An antenna does not just get you NBC. The same scan picks up CBS, ABC, Fox and PBS in your market, plus the digital subchannels sitting alongside each one. Those are the extra numbers you see like 4.2 and 4.3 after a scan, and they carry separate networks entirely, usually classic television or lifestyle programming. They are free and they are not on any cable package. Our guide to watching live TV for free shows what a setup costs.
For Sunday Night Football specifically, the antenna route means you get the game in full broadcast quality with no subscription, no login and no buffering, which is more than most streaming services can promise on a Sunday evening. For the other game slots, see what channel football is on today.
When You Cannot Find NBC
| Problem | Likely fix |
|---|---|
| Antenna scan finds no NBC | Rescan, and check which direction your market’s transmitters are. Indoor antennas are directional. |
| Guide shows the station name, not “NBC” | Search the call sign instead. Your station is WNBC, KUSA, KARE and so on, not “NBC”. |
| Peacock will not play a live NBC show | Live local NBC on Peacock is market-dependent. Yours may not be covered. |
| Sling has no NBC | Correct in most markets. Sling carries local NBC in only a few cities. |
| Cable number does not match this page | These are over-the-air numbers. Cable and satellite renumber every local station. |
| NBC vanished after a channel change | Stations occasionally move frequency. A rescan is all that is needed. |
| Guide has NBC but no NBCSN | NBCSN is a separate pay TV channel. Check the NBCSN table above to see if your provider carries it. |
The author specializes in U.S. cable, satellite, and streaming TV services, with hands-on experience analyzing channel lineups, regional restrictions, equipment requirements, and contract terms. All the content is written with clear, easy-to-understand explanations to help readers compare services accurately and make informed decisions.