The morning after releasing its overstuffed 2026-27 schedule, the NFL on Friday reiterated that its traditional TV partners remain integral to the league’s increasingly atomized distribution scheme.Speaking with reporters on a Zoom call, NFL exec VP of media distribution Hans Schroeder declared that broadcast is “the place to be,” before going on to acknowledge that the Shield’s recently expanded relationship with Netflix reflects an ongoing evolution in how fans access live games.Schroeder mostly threaded the needle between talking up the NFL’s longstanding TV partners and heralding streaming’s growing role in serving up its 272 regular-season games.“We think broadcast has been an incredible home to deliver against our focus, of reach,” Schroeder said. “Now, we also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well. They tune into broadcast for the NFL and that’s where we want to be—but we also want to be on these platforms, with a limited amount of our games, where we know our NFL fans are already as well.”Schroeder offered his assessment of the league’s distribution strategy two days after Netflix announced it had acquired the rights to three additional NFL windows and the annual NFL Honors presentation, a leveling-up that is part of four-year extension of its legacy deal. The streamer first huddled with the league in 2024, inking an agreement to carry an annual Christmas doubleheader.The expanded Netflix package was announced Wednesday at the company’s upfront presentation in New York. While the platform no longer discloses its subscriber figures, at last count, it boasted nearly 90 million customers in the U.S. and Canada, and over 325 million global subs. As NFL commissioner Roger Goodell noted in a recent Vanity Fair feature, one could “make an argument [that Netflix’s reach] is bigger than some of the networks.”The NFL’s tilt toward dealing more of its games to the leading streaming platforms has begun ruffling feathers in Washington, as the Department of Justice recently said it would investigate the affordability and accessibility of the core product. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump wagged a metaphorical finger at the league, suggesting that the shift from free over-the-air TV to streaming services amounts to a form of price gouging. (Trump’s seemingly hypothetical prediction that the expansion of the NFL’s streaming partnerships would force fans to “all of the sudden have to pay $1,000 a game” does not reflect consensus reality.)When asked if the federal government may look to intervene in the matter, the president was noncommittal. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it,” he said.Schroeder and his fellow NFLers sagely chose to avoid any mention of Trump’s recent riffing. The distribution chief instead spoke of the league’s “fan-friendly model,” before praising the old-school TV networks. “We think we’re the most available, broadly distributed … of any sports and entertainment content and we’re really proud of that,” Schroeder said. “And we think that model serves us and our fans and the league really well. And our partners.”In keeping with the NFL’s familiar (if fundamentally inaccurate) assertion that 87% of its games are available via free TV, Schroeder and his colleagues resurfaced the figure more than once during Friday’s call.Grabbing the baton from Schroeder, Jeff Miller, exec VP of communications and public affairs and policy, said the NFL is “committed to being on broadcast television in ways that other content is not.” Miller went on to emphasize the league’s commitment to TV, telling reporters, “We’ll continue to do what’s best for our fans, and that means [we’ll] continue to stay on broadcast television.”“There’s really, I guess, probably no better friend to broadcasters than the NFL,” Miller added. “And to be fair, certainly broadcast television, over the course of decades, has enabled us to reach our fans where they are and is a cornerstone of our media strategy.”Miller also acknowledged recent filings made by Fox Corp. and the National Association of Broadcasters to the Federal Communications Commission. As part of its advocacy efforts, the NAB has urged Congress to revisit the antitrust exemptions guaranteed under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. Miller characterized the NAB’s stance as a “little bit odd, given the relationship that we’ve had with broadcasters,” before pointing out that the association inducted the NFL into its Broadcasting Hall of Fame just a year ago.Meanwhile, as much as streamers look to continue to nibble away at TV’s NFL portfolio, your fall Sundays won’t be discernibly different than they’ve been in recent years. With the afternoon slate firmed up through Week 15, viewers can look forward to 112 CBS/Fox games in the 1 p.m. ET window and 54 matchups at 4:25 p.m. That split is all but identical to last season’s 111/54 ratio.That said, the Sunday afternoon lineups for the final three weeks of the regular season will be noticeably lighter, as 1 p.m. contests are carved out for new primetime opportunities. All told, approximately 28 afternoon games will take place from Weeks 16-18, which works out to five fewer matchups. The Christmas rush (Week 16) will be particularly light, with eight afternoon games expected to be shared by the two networks, down from 11 in the analogous time period in 2025.The reallocation of Sunday afternoon games will not materially impact the availability of free OTA contests at the level of the individual fan.