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Another legacy network is expanding its presence with the NFL next season.
NBC Sports said at the network’s upfront presentation to advertisers on Monday that it has picked up rights to an additional NFL game on Sat., Jan. 2, 2027, as part of the league’s next-to-last regular-season weekend. That new contest will be at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports and Peacock, while a subsequent primetime game at 8 p.m. ET will be a Peacock exclusive.
The additional broadcast will also form part of a trio of key games shown on the network that weekend, which concludes another high-profile clash on Sunday Night Football on Jan. 3.
“With three NFL games in exclusive national windows on the season’s penultimate weekend, we continue to deliver for our owned stations, affiliates, and partners,” said NBC Sports president Rick Cordella.
The network, however, has not yet disclosed the teams involved in any of those games. That will be revealed as part of the league’s full schedule drop on Thursday. NBC Sports, however, did unveil a Cowboys–Giants matchup on Sept. 13 to begin the 2026 SNF slate.
Overall, NBC Sports will have 26 NFL games, including the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 6, 22 regular-season games, two wild-card playoff contests, and one divisional postseason broadcast.
The NFL news was part of a quieter upfront overall for the network with regard to sports. Last year, NBC Sports was touting upcoming coverage of the 2026 Winter Olympics and Super Bowl LX that formed part of the network’s “Legendary February.”
Still, NBC Sports actively pushed its year-round slate of Sunday night sports built between the continued dominance of SNF, the top primetime show in U.S. television for 15 years, along with newly added NBA and MLB rights. The network also unveiled former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, now part of the Football Night in America pregame show.
“Talking football is a natural act for me, and I’m excited for this new challenge,” Tomlin said.
Fox also enlarged its NFL broadcast schedule for 2026, picking up rights to two additional games.
