From 2014 to 2022, CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as cable television's ESPN, paid a combined total of US$20.4 billion[1] will pay $39.6 billion for exactly the same broadcast rights.[2] The NFL thus holds broadcast contracts with four companies (Paramount Global, Comcast, Fox Corporation and The Walt Disney Company/Hearst Corporation, respectively) that control a combined vast majority of the country's television product. League-owned NFL Network, on cable television, also broadcasts a selected number of games nationally. In 2017, the NFL games attracted the top three rates for a 30-second advertisement: $699,602 for NBC Sunday Night Football, $550,709 for Thursday Night Football (NBC), and $549,791 for Thursday Night Football (CBS).[3]
Under the current contracts since 2023, regionally shown games on Sunday afternoons are televised on CBS and Fox, which primarily carry games of AFC and NFC teams respectively (the conference of the away team generally determines the broadcaster of an inter-conference game). Nationally televised regular season games on Sunday and Monday nights currently airing on NBC and ESPN/ABC, respectively, while Amazon Prime Video Nationally televise Thursday night games during the regular season. In addition, a "flexible scheduling" policy allows the league to reschedule Sunday afternoon and night games to different time slots and/or reassign them to different networks regardless of conference (Monday and Thursday Night games are subject to this policy but must give 12 and 28 days notice respectively). During the postseason, ESPN airs two games, NBC airs two, while CBS and Fox air three games in their respective conference each year, all networks air one game in each of the first two rounds then the conference championship round is split between Fox and CBS respectively, an extra wild card game (of either conference) goes in rotation between CBS, Fox and NBC, with another wild card game going up for sale with Prime Video holding rights to this streaming exclusive for most years. The Super Bowl has rotated annually among CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN since the 2023 season.
On April 29, 2020, Amazon renewed its digital rights through the 2022 season, maintaining the TNF simulcasts and digital content, and also adding exclusive international rights to one late-season game per-season outside of the package (which will be produced by CBS).[4] For its simulcasts, Amazon replaced the British feed with a new "Scout's Feed" with extended analysis by Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah (akin to the ESPN "film room" broadcasts of college football games), and "NFL Next Live" on Twitch (with viewer interactivity).[5]
On March 13, 2021, the league announced a new agreement with ESPN/ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC that will run from 2023 to 2033, which increases those broadcaster's digital rights, expands "flexible scheduling", and adds ABC/ESPN to the Super Bowl rotation, among others.