The NFL’s broadcast partners, including CBS, Fox, NBC, NFL Network, ESPN, and Prime Video, compete for the most compelling matchups to maximize viewership. Primetime slots like Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights, along with late Sunday afternoon games, often showcase the league’s top contenders. Traditionally, the reigning Super Bowl champion hosts the season’s opening Thursday night game.
This season introduces a unique scheduling format for Week 16, with two Saturday games broadcast by NBC (1:00 p.m. ET) and FOX (4:30 p.m. ET). The participating teams in these Saturday games will play again on Wednesday, December 25th, against different opponents. These Christmas Day games will be streamed on Netflix, marking the platform’s first foray into live NFL game broadcasts. Week 17 will feature three games on Saturday and two on Sunday, with specific times and dates to be determined and announced later in the season.
Week 18 will also include two Saturday games and the remaining games on Sunday. The exact dates, times, and broadcasting networks for Week 18 will be announced after Week 17 concludes. The majority of NFL games take place on Sunday afternoons, with early games kicking off at 1:00 p.m. ET and late games commencing at either 4:05 p.m. ET or 4:25 p.m. ET, contingent on whether the game is part of a network doubleheader. CBS and FOX share the broadcasting responsibilities for Sunday afternoon games. For the second consecutive year, network assignments for games are not predetermined based on conference affiliation, affording greater scheduling flexibility for CBS and FOX.
Both CBS and FOX will feature doubleheaders, ensuring that every market has access to four Sunday afternoon games in Weeks 15 and 18. In Weeks 1-14 and 16-17, FOX and CBS will each host eight doubleheaders. During these weeks, one network will broadcast games in both Sunday afternoon slots, while the other will air a single game in either time slot. Doubleheader weeks generally alternate between networks, although consecutive doubleheaders for a single network are possible, but not for three consecutive weeks.
