NFL continues to navigate scheduling puzzle with every game up for bid and more broadcast windows

NBC Sports president Rick Cordella put it best when summarizing what the NFL's scheduling department goes through each year.

“I have five kids at home and you never satisfy them all. Just try and do your best, so I think it’s a little bit of that,” Cordella said Wednesday after he had a chance to look at the “Sunday Night Football” slate for the upcoming season. “They have really, really hard jobs. I have no doubt. We’re all campaigning. We’re all leveraging. We all pay a lot of money for these rights and we all want the same thing.”

One would think the job has gotten somewhat easier the past couple of years as the league has come up with more broadcast windows, including making Christmas Day a permanent fixture.

The trade off, though, is that this is the third year under the league's broadcast deals that all of the games are up for bid for every network.

CBS remains the primary home of the AFC, with the NFC on Fox, but if there is a great NFC matchup during a week when CBS has the doubleheader, that game will end up on CBS. That is the case in Week 1 with Detroit visiting Green Bay in the 4:25 p.m. EDT spot.

Hans Schroeder, the NFL's executive vice president of media distribution, said this year's rotation of the NFC North facing the AFC North and NFC East created a lot of favorable matchups to divide among all the network's broadcast partners.

“We love every schedule in May. Hopefully we love it in December, too,” said Schroeder, who is in his second year leading the league's scheduling team. “We have a lot of great matchups, and the flexibility of those new TV deals that every game could go into any widow, I think that's the key and to marry that with a team that is relentless in their effort, I think led to a fun and really great schedule.”

Even though the league announced the release date during the first round of the NFL Draft on April 24, the schedule wasn't totally finalized until Tuesday.

Because some of the games started to be announced on Monday during network upfront presentations to advertisers, those matchups were locked in on Sunday night.

The biggest final-minute decision with the early announced games came with the Fox Week 16 Saturday doubleheader on Dec. 20. The league knew it wanted Packers vs. Bears and Eagles vs. Commanders, but it didn't finalize the home teams until Sunday night.

If ever there was a year where the league could opt to move the Buffalo-Kansas City game from CBS to prime time, this was the one.

However, the Week 9 matchup will again be on CBS and is the only 4:25 p.m. game on Nov. 2. Going into this season, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have faced each other nine times, including the playoffs. The first matchup in 2020 was on Fox with the rest being on CBS.

“To be documenting the story of these franchises and star quarterbacks, we're thrilled to keep telling it,” CBS Sports president and CEO David Berson said.

CBS also got what could be the most-watched game during the regular season with Kansas City visiting Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. The most-watched Thanksgiving game was in 2022 when the New York Giants win over Dallas averaged 42.06 million on Fox.

The Chiefs and Bills are both slated to have nine games on CBS.

It is rare that a Super Bowl rematch airs on the network that carried the game, but Fox gets Kansas City visiting Philadelphia on Week 2 in the 4:25 p.m. EDT window.

Getting the rematch satisfied a couple of requests that Fox made to the league. The network wants more variety in its late afternoon window, and it is also getting more quality matchups when the top AFC teams play on its network.

“We didn’t want to be so reliant on the Dallas Cowboys. I think we hear complaints sometimes that fans feel like it gets a little bit monotonous that our 4:25 window is dominated by one team,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports president, insight and analytics. “We’re certainly still going to have our share of Dallas games, but we’re going to have some Philly in there too. We’re also going to have Buffalo, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Detroit, Washington. I think it is pretty different than what you’re used to seeing on Fox, and I think it’s actually going to be a little bit better.”

NBC not only has the kickoff game between Dallas and Philadelphia on Sept. 4, it has the matchup between the last two NFL MVPs when Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens visit Allen and Buffalo on Sept. 7 on “Sunday Night Football.”

ABC will have 13 “Monday Night Football” games — 11 simulcasts with ESPN and two exclusive games. There will also be two MNF doubleheaders on Sept. 15 and Oct. 20. The Week 7 doubleheader will have the late game between Houston and Seattle streamed on ESPN+.

“Thursday Night Football on Prime Video” features all 14 playoff teams from last year as well as 10 divisional matchups. Prime Video concludes its regular-season slate with Denver at Kansas City on Christmas night. The Black Friday game between Chicago and Philadelphia will also include an NBA doubleheader afterward.

Derek Carr's retirement did not have any impact on New Orleans' schedule. The Saints were already in a rebuilding mode under new coach Kellen Moore and join Cleveland and Tennessee as the only teams not slated to make a prime-time appearance.

Pittsburgh is already a national brand, so the waiting game on whether Aaron Rodgers suits up in black and yellow or who will be Mike Tomlin's quarterback also didn't have much of a factor. The Steelers — along with AFC North rivals Baltimore and Cincinnati — have four prime-time games.

However, in case Rodgers decides to sign with Pittsburgh, his Week 1 opponent will be at the New York Jets and former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields.

Mike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning, did acknowledge during a conference call on Thursday that if Rodgers had already signed with the Steelers, the league might not have scheduled the Jets in the opener.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

FILE - Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) looks to pass the ball during the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. The Eagles won 40-22. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)

FILE - Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) eludes the reach of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Josh Sweat during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III has been “deeply touched” by the response to his update on his cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace said Saturday, adding that the monarch is pleased to have highlighted the value of screening programs for the disease.

Medics and health charities have praised the king for his openness, saying his statement on Friday had already prompted people to seek information about cancer.

In a strikingly personal video statement, the British monarch acknowledged that a cancer diagnosis can feel “overwhelming,” but said catching the disease early brings “the precious gift of hope.”

Here’s what to know about the king's condition and his message.

The 77-year-old king said in a statement broadcast Friday that his treatment schedule will be reduced in the new year, “thanks to early diagnosis, effective intervention and adherence to ‘doctors’ orders.’”

He encouraged others to take advantage of screening programs such as those for breast, bowel and cervical cancer offered by Britain’s public health service.

“Early diagnosis quite simply saves lives,” the king said in the statement aired during a “Stand Up to Cancer” telethon on TV station Channel 4. He said catching the disease early had allowed him “to continue leading a full and active life even while undergoing treatment.”

Charles has received outpatient treatment for almost two years. Buckingham Palace did not say the king is in remission, but that his treatment is moving to a “precautionary phase” and his condition will be monitored to ensure his continued recovery.

“I know from my own experience that a cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming,” the king said in his video statement. “Yet I also know that early detection is the key that can transform treatment journeys, giving invaluable time to medical teams – and, to their patients, the precious gift of hope.”

Charles announced in February 2024 that he had been diagnosed with cancer, and, in a break from centuries of secrecy about royal health, he has since spoken about the illness, using his story to promote cancer awareness and treatment.

The openness has limits, though. The king has not disclosed what type of cancer he has or what kind of treatment he is receiving. The palace said it was an intentional decision designed to ensure his message reaches the widest possible audience.

The king’s cancer was discovered after treatment for an enlarged prostate. While doctors ruled out prostate cancer, tests revealed “a separate issue of concern,” palace officials said last year.

Charles suspended his public appearances for about two months after his diagnosis. Since returning to the public eye, he has visited cancer treatment centers across the country and shared stories with fellow patients.

Buckingham Palace said Charles “will be greatly encouraged and deeply touched by the very positive reaction" his message has generated. “He will be particularly pleased at the way it has helped to shine a light on the benefits of cancer screening programs,” it added.

British cancer charities said the number of people seeking information about cancer jumped after the king revealed he was undergoing treatment last year.

Cancer Research U.K. said about 100,000 people have visited its Screening Checker website since it was launched on Dec. 5, most of them since the king’s statement on Friday.

The charity's Chief Executive Michelle Mitchell said: “When public figures speak openly about their cancer diagnosis, it can prompt others to check in on their health.”

Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby, the king’s authorized biographer, said the statement was “a remarkable thing for a monarch to do.”

“It takes guts, and the fact that he came out and did that will save lives,’” Dimbleby said.

The Princess of Wales, who announced her own cancer diagnosis six weeks after her father-in-law, has also given updates on her treatment. Kate announced in January that her cancer is in remission.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/royalty

Britain's King Charles III attends an Advent Service at Westminster Abbey, in London, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's King Charles III attends an Advent Service at Westminster Abbey, in London, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP)