The NFL indicated it may schedule more games on nontraditional days as a result of rising viewership and a push to expand holiday-season programming, the report says. League officials said this season’s Wednesday night opener could mark a broader willingness to place games outside the traditional Sunday windows.
The report notes the Sept. 9 opener will be a Wednesday matchup featuring a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. It also details a Wednesday night “Thanksgiving Eve” game on Nov. 25 when the Green Bay Packers visit the Los Angeles Rams, an example officials cited of experimenting beyond customary game days.
NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder told reporters that offering more football to fans is positive and that last season’s ratings gains have encouraged the league to test expanded scheduling, per the report. The league enjoyed a 10% increase in ratings last season, with an average of 18.7 million viewers per game, the report says, and Schroeder noted that every broadcast partner saw growth.
Schroeder also emphasized that most games remain in traditional windows and that the schedule has only evolved modestly, according to the report. The league said it is looking for selective opportunities to broaden distribution while recognizing the bulk of NFL games continue to be played on Sunday.
The 2026 schedule, released Thursday, reflects a heavy focus on the holiday stretch, the report says. Thanksgiving week will include games on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday, while Christmas week will feature a game on Christmas Eve, three games on Christmas Day, a sizable Sunday slate and a Monday night matchup. Mike North, the NFL vice president of broadcasting planning, said the league is maximizing those windows and is “probably stretched about as thinly as we can go that week,” per the report.
