Mike Snider

USA TODAY

The team with the best winning streak going into the Super Bowl? The cord cutters. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Super Bowl has been streamed online for free. Meanwhile, the game's combatants, the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, each have hurdles to overcome. The Panthers are making only their second appearance in the big game, losing a squeaker to the New England Patriots 32-29 in 2004, while the Broncos have to overcome their 43-8 loss to Seattle in the Super Bowl two years ago.

As for viewers, they keep gaining ground. This year, CBS is expanding the variety of devices you can stream the Super Bowl using the CBS Sports app to include Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast and Roku players. Additional camera angles will be available for viewers on Windows 10 devices and the Xbox One video game system.

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You can watch on computers and tablets by streaming CBSSports.com. Verizon Wireless customers can also watch on their smartphone via the NFL Mobile app.

"We find that people are interested in having the game wherever they want it and at any time. This gives viewers more options, and they are able to watch on any device they want wherever they are," said Jeffrey Gerttula, senior vice president and general manager of CBS Sports Digital. "The demand is there and consumers are expecting more."

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Also new this year: Every national Super Bowl commercial can be viewed via the live stream. In the past, many but not all of the ads that ran during the game were included. "Commercials are a big part of the viewing experience, and we wanted to make sure that full experience is passed all the way through to digital platforms," Gerttula said.

A more robust Super Bowl live stream is part of "the new normal," shared by networks, viewers and traditional pay-TV systems, said Phil Swann, president of TVPredictions.com. "Network execs know that not everyone subscribes to pay TV, so they want to ensure they get the biggest audience possible," he said.

And the live stream reminds pay-TV providers that networks "have the option to go around them if they don't pay the prerequisite carriage fees," Swann said. Letting viewers watch the Super Bowl without having to enter credentials that verify their pay-TV subscriptions "is another shot across the bow," he said.

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More and more NFL games were shown online this season — CBS streamed two regular-season games and four playoff games, ESPN's Monday Night Football could be watched on Sling TV and Yahoo on Oct. 25, 2015, delivered a global live stream of the Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars that drew 15.2 million unique viewers.

"It's clear there's a market for streaming NFL without a pay-TV contract," said Chris Brantner who runs the CutCableToday website. "The NFL and the networks realize it, especially in a day where kids are using their parents' pay-TV credentials to log into apps and watch content free anyway. The question is, what streaming model will the NFL turn to? And will the networks play along?"

That's a big game that many of us are anxious to see play out.

"Cutting the Cord" is a regular column covering Net TV and ways to get it. If you have suggestions or questions, contact Mike Snider via e-mail at msnider@usatoday.com. And follow him on Twitter: @MikeSnider.