Which NFL game you get on CBS or FOX depends on where you live, not on which game is best. The league sells Sunday afternoon in regional packages, so two people in different states watching the same channel at the same time will often see different games. Here is how the system works and how to find your game.
Loading scores…
The Basic Rule
CBS carries games with an AFC road team. FOX carries games with an NFC road team. When both teams are in the same conference, that conference’s network gets it. The league can move a game to the other network a handful of times a season, which is called a cross-flex, so the rule is strong but not absolute.
Sunday night is on NBC and Peacock, Monday night is on ESPN and ABC, and Thursday night is on Amazon Prime Video. Those three are national, so everyone gets the same game.
How a Typical Sunday Breaks Down
Most of the season follows the same shape. The early window carries the bulk of the slate, the late window is smaller, and prime time is a single national game.
Finding Your Local Game
The fastest check is a coverage map, which shades the country by which game each market receives in each window. Our NFL Week 2 TV coverage map shows the regional splits for the current week. Your local listings and the channel guide in your TV provider’s app will confirm it.
If your market is not getting the game you want, the out of market options are NFL Sunday Ticket for Sunday afternoon games and NFL RedZone for live look ins across every window.
Related
NFL scores today · NFL games today · NFL RedZone · NFL standings