US EditionReport: NFL Explores Adding Game on Thanksgiving Eve
The NFL aims to add a Thanksgiving Eve game in 2026 to expand broadcast opportunities amid rising holiday viewership, with recent games drawing up to 57.2 million viewers.
- Reported this week by ESPN, the National Football League is weighing a Thanksgiving Eve regular-season game that could arrive as early as the 2026 season on Wednesday, Nov. 25.
- To grow its rights and reach, the league is pursuing additional holiday and special-window games, expanding unique broadcast windows like Black Friday and international Week 1 games, while team owners and networks will pitch at league meetings in Phoenix later this month.
- Broadcast partners point to record and streaming audiences as evidence supporting another holiday window, with last year’s slate averaging 44.7 million viewers and the Chiefs–Cowboys game hitting 57.2 million.
- Thanksgiving Eve would give the league nine major broadcast windows, and participating teams would likely receive a bye the previous week, prompting rights partners to prepare for early renewal talks and budget adjustments.
- Amid recent schedule experiments, the proposed game would further shift the NFL's traditional schedule, leveraging media-rights negotiations and attracting digital bidders such as YouTube, Amazon, and Netflix.
34 Articles
34 Articles
NFL considering adding a game on Thanksgiving Eve
(WISH) — The NFL is exploring adding a game the day before Thanksgiving to the schedule this season. This idea comes as the NFL has been expanding its schedule around holidays. There has been an NFL game on Black Friday in each of the past three seasons. There were also two games on Christmas Day in 2024 when it landed on a Wednesday, and there were three games on Christmas Day in 2025 when it was on a Thursday. The NFL plays three games on Than…
Reports: NFL looking into Thanksgiving Eve game
The NFL is exploring a new piece of holiday real estate with the possibility of adding a Thanksgiving Eve game, as soon as the 2026 season, according to multiple media reports. A Wednesday, Nov. 25 slot has been discussed as the league continues to look for additional standalone broadcast windows during one of its most valuable weeks on the calendar. The momentum is easy to trace. The NFL’s recent pushes beyond its traditional schedule hav…
Chicago Sun Times
Usa newsNFL considers adding Thanksgiving Eve game
The NFL is considering adding a game the day before Thanksgiving to this season's schedule as it continues to explore additional broadcast windows.The possibility of a Thanksgiving Eve game was first reported by ESPN.The three Thanksgiving Day games are among the most watched during the regular season. Last year's slate averaged 44.7 million viewers, surpassing the 2024 mark of 34.5 million.The late-afternoon game between the Kansas City Chiefs …
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