NFL Pushes Back on Criticism Over TV, Streaming Deals: ‘Model Is Working’
The league remains steadfast in its overall media approach.
ORLANDO — Even in the face of rising political and regulatory pressure, the NFL plans no material change to its broadcast policies. Continuing a streak of defiance that’s been evident in recent weeks, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made clear at the conclusion of the league’s spring meeting that it is holding firm on its current media policy. An accelerating embrace of streamers, including a newly expanded rights deal with Netflix , has prompted at least four different points of legislative and regulatory pressure on the NFL, including an investigation by the U.
S. Department of Justice . The NFL, however, has been insistent that it remains committed to broadcast television, and has continually pointed to its 87% of games that are primarily available on that platform.
That percentage increases to 100% in the home markets of the competing teams in each game, and remains in place for the newly released 2026 schedule . “We’re incredibly proud of our policies and they’ve been incredibly effective,” Goodell said Tuesday. To that end, NFL EVP of media distribution Hans Schroeder pointed last week to across-the-board increases in viewership in 2025.
“When we go back and look at our model, our belief in broadcast and in our model, we’re up 10% [in viewership] across all our packages last year. Every partner was up,” said NFL EVP of media distribution Hans Schroeder in response to a Front Office Sports question. “But then we had our highest number of Sunday Ticket subscriptions ever and we also had our highest viewed year of RedZone ever.