The 2026 NFL schedule has officially been released! Fans can now dive into when their favorite teams are playing advantageous matchups, which stretches in their schedules are particularly brutal, and start compiling season record predictions that are sure to be in tatters by Halloween.

We did get some certainty from the NFL schedule release; we now know for a fact which platforms got new NFL games in 2026. With Disney (ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network), CBS, Fox, NBC (including Peacock), Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube all elbowing each other out of the way for a chance to get more games, the competition has been fierce. So, who got new NFL games in 2026-27?

What you need to know about watching NFL games on new platforms in 2026

Which broadcasters added NFL games in 2026-27?

ABC, ESPN, NFL Network

This is the most covoluted set of changes between the NFL and a broadcast partner for 2026. As a result of its sweeping deal to acquire NFL Media properties, Disney saw several games removed from its schedule, but — thankfully for audiences — they were all the dreaded “Monday Night Football” doubleheaders that can keep fans up watching until 1 a.m. on the East Coast.

To compensate, NFL Network — which is now owned by Disney — will stream all of its games on ESPN Unlimited, so the resulting lineup will bring 30 games to ESPN outlets this season, which is the largest inventory ever for the worldwide leader in sports. Between the NFL Media deal and Super Bowl LXI airing on ESPN and ABC in February 2027, there is no question that ESPN has cemented itself as one of the major winners of this year’s schedule release.

CBS

CBS picked up one extra game on this fall’s schedule. The Eye Network scored the primetime window of a Saturday doubleheader on Dec. 19. Last season, Fox had both games on the pre-Christmas Saturday.

CBS’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, has entered negotiations with the NFL on new terms for their existing rights deal, as the league has the right to do thanks to the change in ownership. However, talks did not wrap up before the 2026 schedule was released. If the deal ends up being amended, it will either need to be completely financial, or all inventory adjustments will have to wait until 2027-28.

Fox

In the 2026-27 season, Fox added a pair of games to its NFL slate. The network picked up the Week 10 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions from Munich, Germany. Traditionally, international games have fallen under the NFL Network’s purview, and while the majority of them still do, as the league has added more non-domestic games, they have been shopped to other partners. The other game is being added to the network’s normal package. While Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch touted an additional Week 15 game on Saturday, Dec. 19, the network aired both parts of a doubleheader during the corresponding week of 2025. This season, CBS will have the nightcap.

Fox wasn't shy about its messaging to the NFL that it would raise a major stink if too many games were shifted to streaming this offseason, and the league responded by handing the network a pair of new contests.

NBC

I’ll admit, I was dubious about NBC’s ability to scrounge additional games for itself this offseason. But NBC secured a doubleheader of games in Week 17, starting with a Saturday afternoon game on Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Following the afternoon contest, Peacock will exclusively stream the second leg of the doubleheader, a primetime game starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Netflix

Netflix wanted to double its NFL package in 2026, and it achieved that goal and then some. Additional games headed to Netflix include an opening-week contest between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams from Melbourne on Sept. 10, and the Thanksgiving Eve game between the Rams and Green Bay Packers. Finally, Netflix will stream a Week 18 game between as-yet undetermined opponents, right in the thick of the playoff race.

Who won, lost NFL’s most recent TV battles?

It’s hard not to see Fox and CBS as major winners in the latest showdown between the league and its partners. Both channels got additional game inventory for 2026, and many will credit the cozy relationships between the ownership of both networks and the White House. Concern had been rising that network games could be moved to streaming, further eroding the last bastion of traditional TV’s hold on the public.

Fox appealed to the bully pulpit to try to keep the NFL from sending too much of its available game inventory to streaming services this year; political allies of the Murdoch family in the Trump administration have threatened to investigate the NFL’s antitrust exemption if it shifted too many games off broadcast TV, a notion that has attracted support from both sides of the political divide.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell defended the reach of streamers in a recent interview, but for now, he’s willing to appease the linear networks with more games. When the political climate shifts, the NFL may look back unkindly on CBS and Fox’s maneuverings, but that’s a question for another day.

None of that is to say that all streamers lost out in talks with the league; Netflix secured three additional NFL games in 2026 (the same number as CBS and Fox combined), and extended its deal with the league until 2029-30, when the league can trigger an opt-out clause with its TV partners and send its rights back to the open market. Netflix got a couple of major spotlight games, and a Week 18 contest that’s sure to feature two opponents jockeying for playoff positioning. The world’s largest streamer will also be the new home to the NFL Honors awards show during Super Bowl Week. As is generally the case, regardless of situation, it looks like Netflix might have been the big winner in the NFL Schedule Release Derby.

But other streaming services weren’t so fortunate — neither Prime Video nor YouTube got new games this season. Initially, it appeared YouTube was in a strong position to get at least one game again this year, but in recent days, its fortunes seemed to shift. Now, it will watch Netflix walk away with the lion’s share of new streaming-only games for 2026, and must content itself with another season as the distributor of NFL Sunday Ticket (via YouTube TV).

There was some chatter that NBC might not be able to afford the NFL much longer, after committing to a $2.5 billion-per-year deal with the NBA for over a decade. But that became much ado about nothing as NBC not only kept its “Sunday Night Football” package, but added both a broadcast and a streaming-exclusive game.

ESPN is a not-so-sneaky winner now that the dust has settled. The 30 games on its schedule, especially since all will be broadcast nationally, make it a huge player, but with the even more cozy financial relationship with the league now moving into its first season, do not be surprised if ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network become more and more entrenched in the future of football broadcasting moving forward.

The NFL may be done tinkering with its broadcast deals for now, or it may decide to re-approach teams in the coming offseason if there is less political pressure to keep games off streaming services. But make no mistake, the league is not pleased about the NBA’s latest pay raise and the headlines it garnered, and it wants to re-position itself as the undisputed ruler of sports media deals. That displeasure will come home to roost for current media partners and their wallets sooner or later.