Over the past few years, traditional broadcast television has been hit by cord-cutting, growing streaming competition, and declining entertainment ratings. Yet one thing has remained constant: NFL games. They are still among the few events viewers insist on watching live, preserving both advertising revenue and affiliate fees. That’s exactly why Peter Kafka, chief correspondent at Business Insider, said football is the biggest reason networks like FOX and CBS continue to make money today.

“Really, the NFL, I mean, CBS and FOX in particular, kind of only exist or their primary reason to exist is to distribute football,” Kafka said. “FOX basically doesn’t have any other programming. They have some reality shows, and then they have football. That’s what they do now.”

Kafka’s statement may sound a bit exaggerated, considering FOX is currently streaming the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup, and also has NASCAR and MLB rights deals. Additionally, FOX also airs scripted shows and reality TV. At the same time, however, it’s tough to say that the network is generating the same kind of audience advertisers crave from these shows. That’s where football, especially the NFL, comes in.

Take NBC’s 2026 Upfront presentation, for instance. NBC’s Sunday Night Football averaged 20.6 million viewers, making it the highest-rated broadcast, only behind CBS’s and FOX’s Sunday afternoon NFL windows. The numbers, meanwhile, back that up.

Back in the 2023 season, 93 out of the 100 most-watched telecasts were the NFL games. The number surely dropped in 2024 due to the presidential election, but 72 out of 100 most-watched telecasts still remained the NFL games. It leaped once again during the last season, when around 83 out of 100 telecasts were the NFL matchups. And it’s not hard to understand the reason behind it.

For starters, entertainment programming no longer delivers what advertisers crave and what the NFL does. Fitch Ratings noted in late 2025 that NFL advertising spots command roughly $500,000 to $1 million per 30-second commercial. That’s approximately 5 to 10 times the value of typical primetime entertainment advertising. On top of that, NFL rights are so valuable at this point that nobody wants to lose them.

CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN/ABC, and now the streaming platforms like Prime Video, Netflix, and YouTube are also in the race to get a chunk of the NFL. Those agreements continue through the decade, and NFL games remain the centerpiece of each broadcaster’s sports lineup.

That said, the league is approaching another round of negotiations with its media partners. While the current deal runs through the 2033 season, the NFL holds an opt-out clause after the 2029 season. With that in mind, it’s reasonable to expect the networks to accept the league’s terms in the next media rights cycle.