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Another NFL campaign is finally upon us. While American culture changes faster than ever before, nothing is still able to capture the public imagination quite like its pro football colossus.
The NFL prides itself on parity, and this season seems to be especially wide open. The Seattle Seahawks try to defend their Super Bowl title, as the New England Patriots bid to redeem their defeat. The Kansas City Chiefs look to restore their empire with a healthy Patrick Mahomes and newlywed Travis Kelce. The loaded Los Angeles Rams bring Myles Garrett to Southern California. Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow pursue their first rings. Maybe this is the year when we agree on what a “football move” is.
Unlike other leagues, the NFL’s schedule has a more traditionally defined structure to it. But media rights have complicated that in recent years. The 2026 season adds a Thanksgiving Eve game on Netflix and more international action on ESPN’s newly acquired NFL Network. Consider this your one-stop guide for the full broadcast rotation.
Make sure you’re following the NFL on The Athletic. We have a schedule tool for all 272 regular-season games (pre-flexing, of course). Our Scoop City newsletter has detailed daily briefings from around the league. “The Athletic Football Show” might be the best podcast in the game. And our roster of writers is totally stacked, from beat reporters to senior scribes.
All times listed below are ET.
You can watch live NFL games on Fubo (Stream Free Now).
Quarterback Tiers defined
Mike Sando and Lauren Morales-Jones
Cable/satellite/streaming base
The most expansive option for live game coverage is a multichannel plan. That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. We lay out cord-cutting alternatives for each NFL media partner down below, but there’s a certain peace of mind to the consolidation of pay television.
CBS
Main window: Sunday afternoon
Specials: Rio de Janeiro game, Thanksgiving, Saturday in Week 15
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship Game
Each week, CBS carries games across two Sunday kickoff slots: one at 1 p.m., and another at 4:05 p.m. or the national window at 4:25 p.m. There will be 10 nationwide Sunday doubleheaders this year on CBS. Broadcasts are set by region when there are multiple offerings in a spot.
It’s not a clean split, but CBS is known as the primary home of the AFC. The network’s theme music is a certified slapper.
Its main pregame show, “The NFL Today,” adds recent retirees Russell Wilson and Kyle Long to its studio crew. CBS announcers include Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle, while the color commentary rotation stars JJ Watt.
Five big games to know
- Week 1: Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13
- Week 3: Baltimore Ravens vs. Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27 (Rio de Janeiro)
- Week 12: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving)
- Week 15: Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills, 8:20 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19
- Week 15: Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an indoor TV antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local CBS games also stream on Paramount+.
Fox
Main window: Sunday afternoon
Specials: Munich game, Thanksgiving, Saturday in Week 15, Christmas Day
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship Game
Like CBS, Fox splits Sunday afternoons between early 1 p.m. action and later 4:05/4:25 p.m. matchups. Its centerpiece is branded as “America’s Game of the Week.” Unlike CBS, Fox has a dancing robot named Cleatus. It’s the nominal network for the NFC as well.
Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Davis and Adam Amin are the lead play-by-play voices. Burkhardt pairs with Tom Brady, while Davis calls games alongside Greg Olsen. Amin is partnered with newcomer Drew Brees, who is fresh off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Some Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fox Deportes.
Five big games to know
- Week 1: Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13
- Week 5: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers, 4:25 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11
- Week 10: Detroit Lions vs. New England Patriots, 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 15 (Munich)
- Week 15: Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles, 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 19
- Week 16: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas)
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local Fox games also stream on Fox One.
NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZone
Main window: Sunday afternoon
These two are the access points for all non-national matchups that aren’t on regional CBS or Fox.
NFL Sunday Ticket has full games. It’s exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV, and it’s the costliest subscription for watching the NFL. New users with a YouTube TV plan are charged $240 for their first year of service. Returning users pay a more sizable $378. Those without YouTube TV can still get NFL Sunday Ticket as a primetime channel through the standard YouTube app — $240 for new signups, $480 for returners. Customers who switch to any Verizon Fios home internet plan can get free NFL Sunday Ticket credentials through Sept. 2. Other eligible plans qualify for that deal through Sept. 23. College students can purchase NFL Sunday Ticket at a discounted price of $119.
RedZone is the whip-around program that jumps around the slate to cover scoring drives. This is the place for Scott Hanson, “the witching hour” and chaotic octobox split screens. It can be added to NFL Sunday Ticket for an additional cost, and it’s included on some high-end pay TV sports plans.
RedZone also lives on NFL+ Premium, which can be bundled with the ESPN Unlimited plan. There are standalone subscriptions to NFL+ Premium as well.
What you’ll need to watch: An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube TV or the YouTube app; NFL RedZone access through select pay TV packages, ESPN Unlimited or NFL+ Premium.
NBC and Peacock
Main window: Sunday night
Specials: Wednesday season opener, Mexico City game, Thanksgiving, Saturday in Week 17
Playoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional game
This is the faithful home of “Sunday Night Football” each weekend. And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. At least SNF has a consistent 8:20 p.m. start time.
Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, with Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines. Carrie Underwood sings about waiting all day for Sunday night. NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show brings on longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. Telemundo has the telecasts in Spanish.
The network has two extra Saturday offerings for Week 17. One is exclusive to Peacock, and both matchups will be announced later in the season. The same goes for NBC’s Week 18 regular-season finale.
“Sunday Night Football” is subject to flex scheduling — games can be swapped in and out of the window twice between Weeks 5-10 and any time from Weeks 11-17. This allows executives to pick games with greater playoff implications, though it leaves the actual ticket holders in a bind.
Five big games to know
- Week 1: New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9
- Week 1: Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants, 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13
- Week 11: Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22 (Mexico City)
- Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, 8:20 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving)
- Week 17: Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers, 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 3
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing, or a Peacock account with the live sports plan.
ABC and ESPN
Main window: Monday night
Specials: Saturday in Week 18
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXI
The Disney networks combine to cover 17 “Monday Night Football” games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN, with another seven exclusive to the latter. The oft-maligned “Monday Night Football” doubleheader is now a thing of the past.
MNF kickoffs have 8:15 p.m. starts, and their schedule flexes can happen any time in Weeks 12-17. The two Saturday ABC/ESPN matchups in Week 18 will be set as the postseason picture sharpens.
ESPN is preparing for its first Super Bowl broadcast ever on Feb. 14, 2027. It will be simulcast on ABC.
Joe Buck handles play-by-play for MNF. He’s joined by analyst Troy Aikman, plus the sideline duo of Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge. Spanish-language airings can be found on ESPN Deportes. For 12 regular-season games and the Super Bowl, ESPN2 offers an alternate “ManningCast,” in which Eli and Peyton Manning watch the games with famous fans. Guests have ranged from Bill Belichick to Lil Wayne.
Five big games to know
- Week 1: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14
- Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28
- Week 5: Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams, 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12
- Week 7 : Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 26
- Week 10: Los Angeles Chargers at Baltimore Ravens, 8:15 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for ABC, or an ESPN Unlimited account.
Prime Video
Main window: Thursday night
Specials: Black Friday
Playoffs: 1 wild-card game
Most weeks begin with “Thursday Night Football,” which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Those games are behind the Prime paywall, but they’re free over the air in the participants’ home markets. Flex rules around TNF are a bit less hectic, with two allotments between Weeks 13-17.
Thursdays are called by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on sideline duty. Herbstreit loves dogs; Michaels hates vegetables. Prime has Spanish-language coverage and advanced stat broadcast options within its app. Among the studio personalities are former All-Pros Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth.
Five big games to know
- Week 2: Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills, 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17
- Week 6: Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos, 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15
- Week 7: New England Patriots at Chicago Bears, 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22
- Week 12: Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers, 8:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27 (Black Friday)
- Week 17: Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31 (New Year’s Eve)
What you’ll need to watch: Amazon Prime. TNF is also free on Twitch with a registered account.
NFL Network
Specials: London, Paris and Madrid games, Saturday in Week 16
The league-owned media outlet is now under ESPN’s purview, thanks to a blockbuster deal that gave the NFL a 10 percent ownership stake in “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” As of July 30, NFL Network is integrated into the ESPN Unlimited plan. It can also be accessed through NFL+ or NFL+ Premium.
NFL Network has five of the international games, plus a pair of Saturday matchups in Week 16 to be revealed at least two weeks prior to Dec. 26. Those two have 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. kickoffs.
Dave Pasch, Jason Kelce and Kurt Warner will call two of the three London games, the Steelers-Saints clash in Paris and one of the Week 16 contests. Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick get the Texans-Jaguars London matchup, Bengals-Falcons in Madrid and the other Saturday game in Week 16.
Five big games to know
- Week 4: Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Commanders, 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4 (London)
- Week 5: Philadelphia Eagles vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11 (London)
- Week 6: Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18 (London)
- Week 7: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New Orleans Saints, 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25 (Paris)
- Week 9: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atlanta Falcons, 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8 (Madrid)
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or access to NFL+, NFL+ Premium or ESPN Unlimited.
Netflix
Specials: Melbourne game, Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Day, Saturday in Week 18
Remember when Netflix was shipping DVDs in red envelopes? Now, the streaming behemoth continues to expand its relationship with the NFL. It has five regular-season games in the upcoming season, including two of the three Christmas Day marquees. Like TNF on Prime, these Netflix games are over the air in their respective local markets.
As reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, new Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly has been tapped as Netflix’s top NFL analyst. He and Noah Eagle (son of CBS’ Ian Eagle) are on the call for the Week 1 export at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
Five big games to know
- Week 1: San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams, 8:35 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10 (Melbourne)
- Week 12: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams, 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25 (Thanksgiving Eve)
- Week 16: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas)
- Week 16: Buffalo Bills at Denver Broncos, 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas)
- Week 18: TBA, 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9
What you’ll need to watch: A Netflix subscription.
How to watch the NFL in Canada
Those north of the border have a few different ways to keep up with American football. Select Sunday afternoon games are free over the air on CTV, while primetime spots (TNF, SNF, MNF) land on the cable channel TSN. Both aforementioned windows have French telecasts through RDS.
All regular-season games and RedZone stream with NFL Game Pass via DAZN. You can watch GamePass with DAZN’s standalone plan or Fubo’s Sports Pro package, which includes DAZN.
What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV provider with CTV, DAZN and TSN, or over-the-top subscriptions to DAZN and TSN.
All told, watching the entirety of the 2026 NFL regular season will run you around $140-$200 per month. That factors in the average pay TV cost, the NFL Sunday Ticket price ranges and the lowest subscription tiers for Netflix, Peacock and Prime. The final bill can be shaved down a bit by using Twitch for “Thursday Night Football.”
It’s been a lot of information to process. Let’s close on a high note. For sifting through all that information, we’re linking out to one of the most important NFL videos ever captured.
Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
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