The National Football League’s game schedule continues to draw significant interest from fans and government officials alike, particularly those following the Washington Commanders or their preferred teams. However, the league faces increased examination as it allocates more contests to streaming platforms.
Out of 272 regular-season matchups, 22 will have streaming services as their primary broadcaster – one additional game compared to the previous season’s announcement. Another 14 games will air mainly on cable networks.
This distribution means 236 contests will broadcast on CBS, Fox, NBC or ABC, keeping 87% of all games on traditional broadcast television – identical to last year’s percentage. Games played in each team’s home market will continue airing on broadcast networks.
President Donald Trump expressed his frustration regarding the financial burden on fans seeking access to complete game coverage, as Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice investigations proceed.
“You have people that live for Sunday. They can’t think about anything else, and then all of a sudden, they’re gonna have to pay $1,000 a game? It’s crazy, so I’m not happy about it,” Trump said while interviewed on “Full Measure” last weekend.
Although fans don’t actually pay $1,000 per individual game for television or streaming access, the combined cost of viewing all content through “NFL Sunday Ticket,” cable or satellite packages, plus subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Peacock could approach nearly $1,000 for an entire season.
Despite heightened examination of its distribution approach, the league maintained its existing strategy, according to Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution.
“Our focus is on getting the best games into the best windows,” Schroeder said. “And even with the additional games that went to Netflix, we think we’re expanding the reach of those games.”
The organization created new independent time slots after reclaiming four games from Monday night doubleheaders used in prior seasons. Two games moved to Netflix (Thanksgiving Eve and the Saturday early game in Week 18), one to Fox (one of the international games) and one to NBC (a Saturday game in Week 17).
CBS and Fox gained Saturday games in Week 15 that previously aired as Sunday regional contests. Fox also secured a Christmas Day game for the first time since 2023.
Although the league and ESPN believed having dual Monday night games certain weeks would benefit viewers, it frequently divided audiences because one contest began at 7 p.m. while the other started at 8:15 p.m.
“I think our fans felt a little conflicted with having two games on Monday,” Schroeder said. “It wasn’t working as we intended. We could take these games and find a better home and broader distribution for them.”
The Netflix games should attract substantial viewership given the platform’s domestic and international presence. The streaming service boasts 81.4 million U.S. subscribers versus ESPN’s 60 million. Netflix will also distribute its five-game package worldwide.
Ten Monday night games will simulcast on ABC this season. ESPN will broadcast the Super Bowl for the first time, while ABC will air it for the first time since 2006.
Tim Reed, ESPN’s vice president of programming and acquisitions, also believed eliminating the doubleheaders helped “Monday Night Football” achieve a more comprehensive schedule.
“The ability to streamline and simplify the schedule just helps. I assume it helped the league and makes it easier to land all the games,” he said.
With 10 broadcast windows during Thanksgiving week, only six 1 p.m. games will air Sunday, split equally between CBS and Fox. Baltimore at Houston (CBS) and Atlanta at Minnesota (Fox) are anticipated to be the featured early window contests, while Seattle at San Francisco receives the late afternoon spotlight on Fox.
Christmas week will feature 11 windows – Christmas Eve, three on Christmas Day, two on Dec. 26, CBS doubleheader plus early game on Fox, NBC Sunday night, and ESPN Monday night. After ESPN selects the two games it will broadcast on NFL Network, CBS and Fox will each receive one game, likely resulting in six total 1 p.m. Sunday contests. The 49ers-Chiefs matchup serves as the highlighted late-afternoon game on CBS.
“How do you satisfy everybody? You probably can’t, but you can be fair,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports president, insight and analytics. “It leaves things a little light for the afternoon windows, but as long as we’re not shouldering more of that burden and feel we’re being treated fairly, it’s OK.”
CBS, which experienced its strongest regular season in 2025, will feature the Chiefs four times and the Cowboys twice during its Sunday 4:25 p.m. doubleheader window.
Its strongest lineup appears to be Week 15, with Bears-Bills on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 8:20 p.m., followed by Steelers-Ravens on Sunday at 1 p.m., and Cowboys-Rams at 4:25 p.m.
“That will be a great scene in Buffalo for us, and then you go from that game to Sunday and a monster doubleheader with Ravens-Steelers early, a legendary black-and-blue game, and then having the Cowboys in LA against the Rams,” said Dan Weinberg, CBS Sports EVP of programming.
CBS also features the Cowboys in Week 3 against the Ravens, which will take place in Brazil.
By broadcasting the Patriots-Lions game in Munich during Week 10, Fox will present its first tripleheader since Week 8 in 2016. Following the Sunday morning game, it will also showcase Vikings-Packers as a featured 1 p.m. contest, followed by 49ers-Cowboys in the late afternoon slot.
Tom Brady makes his initial return to Foxborough, Massachusetts, as a broadcaster when the Patriots face the Packers in Week 9.
“I think there are 60 dates this season with NFL football. That is quite different than 20-25 years ago,” Mulvihill said. “Sunday is still the core of the football experience and always will be. I think the league is mindful of not undermining the brand and power of Sunday football.”
