An overtime postseason thriller for the NFL drew an unprecedented audience last Saturday, while a subsequent primetime blowout provided a minor speed bump in the league’s banner season for viewership.

CBS said late Wednesday that it averaged 39.6 million viewers for its divisional playoff coverage of the Bills at the Broncos. The game, won by Denver 33–30 in overtime, led to Buffalo firing head coach Sean McDermott. The television audience, however, represented the most-watched Saturday NFL playoff game in league history and topped last year’s comparable game, a Texans-Chiefs matchup on ESPN and ABC, by 17%. 

During the overtime period of the Buffalo-Denver game, the audience peaked at nearly 51.3 million viewers. The contest was also the most-watched Saturday telecast on any network since the 1994 Winter Olympics, and was also the most-watched Saturday afternoon telecast in U.S. television history. 

With this latest figure from the divisional round, CBS is also posting its best-ever NFL season at this point, averaging 22.3 million viewers per game.

NFC Stumble

Fox, meanwhile, was not so fortunate with its Saturday night coverage of the 49ers at the Seahawks, a 41–6 blowout win for Seattle that had none of the gripping drama that was core to the earlier game. That contest averaged 32 million viewers, down 5% from a comparable Commanders-Lions game last year on Fox, and the second straight annual decline for the divisional playoffs in that window. 

Viewership data from the two divisional playoff games last Sunday—Texans at Patriots on ESPN and ABC, and the Rams at the Bears on NBC—is expected Thursday. 

The initial results from the divisional round, and particularly the historic figures from Denver, veered from the sharper declines in three of the four divisional playoff games last year. Overall, the television situation has amounted to a banner season for the NFL with a series of audience milestones during the regular season, in the wild-card round, and on streaming. 

Beyond the overall rising profile and popularity for the NFL, the league’s viewership numbers have also seen a boost from the arrival of new and expanded Nielsen methodologies to track audiences, notably Big Data + Panel.

The WNBA released a schedule for the 2026 season Wednesday despite the league and union remaining at odds over a new collective bargaining agreement. 

The league said its 30th season will feature a 44-game slate tipping off May 8 and concluding on Sept. 24, though a work stoppage could delay the season. The WNBA did not comment directly on the state of negotiations. 

“Releasing the 2026 schedule is a key step as we prepare for the WNBA’s 30th season and allows teams, partners, broadcasters, and fans to begin the essential planning for the year ahead,” a WNBA spokesperson said in a statement provided to Front Office Sports.

The union did not immediately return a request for comment. 

Currently on the table is a proposal from the league that includes increasing the WNBA schedule from 44 games to between 50 and 54 games, according to a source familiar with negotiations. However, the 2026 schedule is not expected to increase from 44 games because of the anticipated 18-day midseason interruption for the FIBA World Cup. The tournament will take place in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 4–13. 

WNBA games will pause Aug. 31 and resume Sept. 17. The WNBA All-Star Game is scheduled for July 25 at the United Center in Chicago. The playoffs will begin Sept. 27. 

Despite the schedule release there are still a number of uncertainties surrounding the upcoming season. 

CBA negotiations entered a period of status quo after the Jan. 9 deadline—which was the second extension of the original Oct. 31 end date—passed with no deal and no agreement on a new extension. Both sides agreed to a moratorium pausing all free-agency activity, but beyond that as negotiations continue so will league business under the conditions of the 2020 CBA. In this status quo period either side could initiate a work stoppage without advance notice. The union voted to authorize a strike in December. Earlier this month WNBPA VP Breanna Stewart told reporters a strike was not something the union was pursuing in the immediate future but rather a measure to have “in our back pocket.” 

Sources familiar with the league’s thinking have maintained there is no interest from ownership in pursuing a lockout. Regardless of whether there is a work stoppage, the 2026 schedule could still face delays as the window tightens to execute an expansion draft for the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire, carry out free agency, and conduct the 2026 WNBA draft.

According to multiple sources the WNBA has not responded to the union’s most recent proposal shared close to Christmas. That proposal included an ask for a 30% share of gross revenue and a $10.5 million salary cap. The league did not return a request for comment on why it has chosen not to engage with that proposal over the course of nearly four weeks. 

The Tempo, despite not having a team yet, are scheduled to play their inaugural game against the Washington Mystics on May 8 at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto. The WNBA’s opening night will also feature the New York Liberty hosting the Connecticut Sun and the Seattle Storm hosting the Golden State Valkyries. 

On May 9, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers will go head-to-head as the Dallas Wings visit the Indiana Fever. A rematch of the 2025 WNBA Finals between the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury is also slated for Day 2 of opening-weekend action. The Fire, without players like the Tempo, will host the Chicago Sky on night two of opening-weekend action. The opening weekend concludes with five games on May 10.