The NFL boasts six broadcast partners: CBS, Fox, NBC, NFL Network, ESPN, and Prime Video. Each network vies for the most compelling matchups to maximize viewership. The league strategically schedules marquee games for prime viewing slots, including Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights, as well as the late Sunday afternoon slot. Traditionally, the reigning Super Bowl champion hosts the season’s opening Thursday night game.
The NFL reserves its most prominent matchups for primetime slots, ensuring maximum exposure for its biggest games. These include Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football, and the late afternoon Sunday games. The league often schedules the Super Bowl champion to host the kickoff game on Thursday night to commence the new season.
This season introduces a unique scheduling format for Week 16, featuring two Saturday games. NBC will broadcast a game at 1:00 p.m. ET, followed by a Fox broadcast at 4:30 p.m. ET. The four teams participating in these Saturday games will play again on Wednesday, December 25th, against different opponents. These Christmas Day games mark Netflix’s inaugural foray into live NFL game broadcasting.
Week 17 will see three of the five designated matchups played on Saturday, with the remaining two on Sunday. Specific dates and times for these Week 17 games will be announced later in the season. Similarly, Week 18 will feature two Saturday games and the rest on Sunday, with specific dates, times, and broadcast networks determined and announced after Week 17 concludes.
The majority of NFL games take place on Sunday afternoons. Early games kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET, while late games begin at either 4:05 p.m. ET or 4:25 p.m. ET, depending on whether they are part of a network doubleheader. CBS and Fox share the broadcasting responsibilities for Sunday afternoon games. For the second consecutive year, network assignments are not predetermined based on conference affiliation, providing greater scheduling flexibility for CBS and Fox.
Both CBS and Fox will feature doubleheader broadcasts, ensuring that every market has access to four Sunday afternoon games in Weeks 15 and 18. From Weeks 1 through 14 and Weeks 16-17, both Fox and CBS will air eight doubleheaders each. During these weeks, one network will broadcast games in both Sunday afternoon time slots, while the other will air a single game in either the early or late slot. While doubleheader weeks generally alternate between networks, there are exceptions, allowing for consecutive doubleheader weeks for a single network, but never three in a row.
