The Indianapolis Colts went through an anticlimactic end to a promising 2025 campaign. But with a healthy squad again, they could be ready to return to playoff football.It looked like they would get there last season during an 8-2 start. Then Daniel Jones, who was in the midst of a bounce-back year, went down with a torn Achilles in Week 14. Indianapolis finished on a seven-game losing streak. Now the question is if Jones and the team can get back to their early-2025 ways under head coach Shane Steichen.Star running back Jonathan Taylor returns on a new two-year extension after he led the NFL in total touchdowns, rushing touchdowns and first downs. He’s the league’s active leading rusher in yards per game with 90.5.Alec Pierce also signed a contract extension in the offseason, moving into the WR1 role after the Colts traded Michael Pittman Jr. to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pierce ranked first among all receivers in yards per reception in both 2024 and 2025. He’s once again joined by Josh Downs out wide, with veteran Keenan Allen as a new target for Jones.On defense, Sauce Gardner and Charvarius Ward combine to form a menacing secondary, while Laiatu Latu continues to show flashes off the edge. He’s heading into his third season after leading the team with 8 1/2 sacks in 2025.Indianapolis has plenty of can’t-miss games this season, including a Week 2 road matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs and a trip to London in Week 4. Unfortunately for fans, catching the action has become increasingly difficult thanks to new streaming deals and subscription plans. Regardless of where you’re tuning in from, our guide to watching the Colts throughout the regular season has you covered.Before getting into the broadcast schedule, make sure you’re following the Colts on The Athletic, as well as the stellar work of beat writer James Boyd.All times listed below are ET.The full 2026 Indianapolis Colts schedule Wk.MatchupDateTimeNetwork1 Ravens Sunday, Sept. 13 1:00 p.m. CBS 2@ Chiefs Sunday, Sept. 20 8:20 p.m. NBC 3 Texans Sunday, Sept. 27 1:00 p.m. CBS 4@ Commanders Sunday, Oct. 4London 9:30 a.m. NFL Network 5@ Steelers Sunday, Oct. 11 1:00 p.m. CBS 6 Titans Sunday, Oct. 18 1:00 p.m. Fox 7@ Vikings Sunday, Oct. 25 1:00 p.m. CBS 8@ Jaguars Sunday, Nov. 1 1:00 p.m. CBS 9 Cowboys Sunday, Nov. 8 1:00 p.m. Fox 10 Dolphins Sunday, Nov. 15 1:00 p.m. CBS 11@ Texans Thursday, Nov. 19 8:15 p.m. Prime 12 Giants Sunday, Nov. 29 1:00 p.m. Fox 13 BYE 14@ Eagles Sunday, Dec. 13 1:00 p.m. Fox 15@ Titans Sunday, Dec. 20 1:00 p.m. CBS 16 Bengals TBA 17@ Browns Sunday, Jan. 3 1:00 p.m. Fox 18 Jaguars TBA Times in Eastern. Cable/satellite/streaming baseThe most expansive option for live game coverage is a multichannel plan. That includes streamers like Fubo, Sling TV and YouTube TV, or more traditional providers like DirecTV, Dish and Xfinity. We lay out cord-cutting alternatives for each NFL media partner down below, but there’s a certain peace of mind to the consolidation of pay television.What the Colts are expecting from Alec Pierce this seasonJames BoydCBSMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, AFC Championship GameEach week, CBS carries games across two Sunday kickoff slots: one at 1 p.m., and another at 4:05 p.m. or the national window at 4:25 p.m. There will be 10 nationwide Sunday doubleheaders this year on CBS. Broadcasts are set by region when there are multiple offerings in a spot.It’s not a clean split, but CBS is known as the primary home of the AFC. The network’s theme music is a certified slapper.Its main pregame show, “The NFL Today,” adds recent retirees Russell Wilson and Kyle Long to its studio crew. CBS announcers include Jim Nantz and Ian Eagle, while the color commentary rotation stars JJ Watt.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an indoor TV antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local CBS games also stream on Paramount+.FoxMain window: Sunday afternoon (in-market fans)Playoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, NFC Championship GameLike CBS, Fox splits Sunday afternoons between early 1 p.m. action and later 4:05/4:25 p.m. matchups. Its centerpiece is branded as “America’s Game of the Week.” Unlike CBS, Fox has a dancing robot named Cleatus. It’s the nominal network for the NFC as well.Kevin Burkhardt, Joe Davis and Adam Amin are the lead play-by-play voices. Burkhardt pairs with old Colts rival Tom Brady, while Davis calls games alongside Greg Olsen. Amin is partnered with newcomer Drew Brees, who is fresh off his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. Some Spanish-language broadcasts are available on Fox Deportes.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing. Local Fox games also stream on Fox One.NFL Sunday Ticket and NFL RedZoneMain window: Sunday afternoon (out-of-market fans)These two are the access points for all non-national matchups that aren’t on regional CBS or Fox.NFL Sunday Ticket has full games. It’s exclusive to YouTube and YouTube TV. Those without a YouTube TV plan can still get NFL Sunday Ticket as a primetime channel through the standard YouTube app.RedZone is the whip-around program that jumps around the slate to cover scoring drives. This is the place for Scott Hanson, “the witching hour” and chaotic octobox split screens. It can be added to NFL Sunday Ticket, and it’s included on some high-end pay TV sports plans.RedZone also lives on NFL+ Premium, which can be bundled with the ESPN Unlimited plan.What you’ll need to watch: An NFL Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube TV or the YouTube app; NFL RedZone access through select pay TV packages, ESPN Unlimited or NFL+ Premium.NBC and PeacockMain window: Sunday nightPlayoffs: 2 wild-card games, 1 divisional gameThis is the faithful home of “Sunday Night Football” each weekend. And because everything has to be confusing, the NBC lineup opens with a Wednesday night season premiere. At least SNF has a consistent 8:20 p.m. start time.Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth are in the booth, with Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines. Carrie Underwood sings about waiting all day for Sunday night. NBC’s “Football Night in America” pregame show brings on longtime head coach Mike Tomlin. Telemundo has the telecasts in Spanish.The network has two extra Saturday offerings for Week 17. One is exclusive to Peacock, and both matchups will be announced later in the season. The same goes for NBC’s Week 18 regular-season finale.“Sunday Night Football” is subject to flex scheduling — games can be swapped in and out of the window twice between Weeks 5-10 and any time from Weeks 11-17. This allows executives to pick games with greater playoff implications, though it leaves the actual ticket holders in a bind.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for free over-the-air viewing, or a Peacock account with the live sports plan.ABC and ESPNMain window: Monday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card game, 1 divisional game, Super Bowl LXIThe Disney networks combine to cover 17 “Monday Night Football” games. Ten of those are on both ABC and ESPN, with another seven exclusive to the latter. The oft-maligned “Monday Night Football” doubleheader is now a thing of the past.MNF kickoffs have 8:15 p.m. starts, and their schedule flexes can happen any time in Weeks 12-17. The two Saturday ABC/ESPN matchups in Week 18 will be set as the postseason picture sharpens.ESPN is preparing for its first Super Bowl broadcast ever on Feb. 14, 2027. It will be simulcast on ABC.Joe Buck handles play-by-play for MNF. He’s joined by analyst Troy Aikman, plus the sideline duo of Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge. Spanish-language airings can be found on ESPN Deportes. For 12 regular-season games and the Super Bowl, ESPN2 offers an alternate “ManningCast,” in which Colts legend Peyton Manning joins his brother Eli to watch the games with famous fans. Guests have ranged from Bill Belichick to Lil Wayne.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or an antenna for ABC, or an ESPN Unlimited account.Prime VideoMain window: Thursday nightPlayoffs: 1 wild-card gameMost weeks begin with “Thursday Night Football,” which kicks off at 8:15 p.m. Those games are behind the Prime paywall, but they’re free over the air in the participants’ home markets. Flex rules around TNF are a bit less hectic, with two allotments between Weeks 13-17.The Colts currently have one Thursday night game: on the road against the rival Houston Texans in Week 11.TNF is called by Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on sideline duty. Herbstreit loves dogs; Michaels hates vegetables. Prime has Spanish-language coverage and advanced stat broadcast options within its app. Among the pregame and postgame personalities are former All-Pros Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman and Andrew Whitworth.What you’ll need to watch: Amazon Prime. TNF is also free on Twitch with a registered account.NFL NetworkThe league-owned media outlet is now under ESPN’s purview, thanks to a blockbuster deal that gave the NFL a 10 percent ownership stake in “The Worldwide Leader in Sports.” As of July 30, NFL Network is integrated into the ESPN Unlimited plan. It can also be accessed through NFL+ or NFL+ Premium.NFL Network has five of the international games, including the Colts’ clash with the Washington Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 4. Dave Pasch, Jason Kelce and Kurt Warner will be on the call for that 9:30 a.m. start.NFLN also has a pair of Saturday matchups in Week 16 to be revealed at least two weeks prior to Dec. 26. Those two have 4:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. kickoffs.What you’ll need to watch: A pay TV package, or access to NFL+, NFL+ Premium or ESPN Unlimited.NetflixRemember when Netflix was shipping DVDs in red envelopes? Now, the streaming behemoth continues to expand its relationship with the NFL. It has five regular-season games in the upcoming season, including two of the three Christmas Day marquees. Like TNF on Prime, these Netflix games are over the air in their respective local markets.As reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, new Hall of Famer Luke Kuechly has been tapped as Netflix’s top NFL analyst. He and Noah Eagle (son of CBS’ Ian Eagle) are on the call for the Week 1 export at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.What you’ll need to watch: A Netflix subscription.This year, watching all 17 regular-season Colts games costs approximately $40-$125 per month for in-market fans and $115-$200 for the out-of-market ones. Those estimates are based on average prices for pay TV and NFL Sunday Ticket, plus the lowest subscription tiers for Netflix, Peacock and Prime. All subscription prices are included because of possible late-season flexes. But to lower the cost a little, Twitch can be used on mobile for TNF Prime broadcasts.Official Colts single-game franchise records(Through the 2025 season)
How to watch the 2026 Indianapolis Colts: A TV guide for Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor
Here's what to know about the Colts' upcoming schedule and their regular-season broadcast networks.











