1. Right after the 2026 NFL schedule was released Thursday night, I interviewed NFL VP of broadcast planning Mike North for a new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina.
I covered a slew of topics with North and I recommend listening to the entire 40-minute conversation if you’re an NFL fan. Here are a few nuggets and highlights from the interview:
• The 2026 schedule was not finalized until Tuesday. North said the teams received the schedule on Wednesday morning and the networks got it on Thursday morning.
• There were rumors that a second Black Friday game would be added to the schedule. That never materialized. According to North, the plan was always to add a game to either the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or on Black Friday.
The league passed on adding a second Black Friday game and wanted to experiment with a Thanksgiving Eve matchup.
“This all came as a result of the deal the NFL made with ESPN, when they took over NFL Network,” said North. “We got the Monday night side-by-side games back from Disney.
“Those came back, and so the NFL had those games in hand and reached out to all partners, not just streaming partners, but broadcast partners. Hey, are there any windows we’re not currently playing in that you’d be interested in.
“Thanksgiving week is tough. Three games on Thursday. We still wanna be strong on Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, Monday night. I don’t think we were gonna play Wednesday night, Thanksgiving Eve, and noon on Black Friday. It was probably a one or the other. As we talked to the partners and everybody tried to figure out where the value was, we also tried to figure out what the fans would be most interested in. Everybody came around to Wednesday night. It’s rare when you get a night where nobody has school the next day, nobody has work the next day.
“We’ve demonstrated what a part of the fabric Thanksigving we’ve become with 47 million watching Detroit [against the Packers] last year and 57 million watching Chiefs-Cowboys. Could you extend that holiday weekend a little bit? It really turned into an either or. Wednesday night or Friday at noon. We ended up on Wednesday night.”
• The Chiefs open the season in Week 1 on Monday Night Football against the Broncos. In Week 2, Kansas City is back on primetime, playing the Colts on Sunday Night Football. Was there any concern about airing the Chiefs in primetime for the first two weeks of the season when we don’t know the status of superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes?
“They’re a story,” responded North. “They’re relevant Week 1 with or without 15. Our thought was if you think about the partners that have multiple Chiefs appearances, whether it’s CBS with eight of them or ESPN with two of them or NBC with three of them, roll the dice. Take a shot. If it’s not Mahomes, it’s Fields and still a story. And it’s still Chiefs-Broncos. That game is still going to mean something in Week 1. If he’s there, great. If he’s not, it’s still relevant.
“Didn’t want to use a network’s one appearance, Amazon for instance, only getting one Chiefs, Fox only getting one Chiefs. Maybe not worth the risk for those guys early in the season. But for the guys that have multiple Chiefs appearances, you’ve got a storyline all the way through. Whether it’s Mahomes Day 1 or it’s Justin Fields. Last time we saw the Chiefs, it was Justin Fields, now it’s Mahomes. How are the Chiefs doing? It’s a story either way and I think the fans will be interested.
You can listen to the full podcast with North, in addition to my weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment below or on Apple and Spotify.
2. I probably shouldn’t admit this as someone who covers sports media, but I have not watched one schedule release video. Once the schedule came out at 8 p.m., I spent the hour prepping for my interview with Mike North, which began at 9 p.m. In addition, I’m just over the schedule release videos. They just don’t do anything for me anymore. However, I know everyone loves them, so here is a piece of the winners and losers of the schedule release videos from a few of my SI colleagues.
3. Can someone let Fox know that Tom Brady isn’t playing anymore and that he’s more loyal to the Raiders than the Patriots now and this isn’t a thing? Thanks.
4. Great NFL betting nugget here from Yahoo’s Ben Fawkes.
5. If the Cavs-Pistons series goes seven games, you better have access to Prime Video on Sunday, because that’s where the game will air.
6. I’m only posting this story about Dodgers reliever Edwin Diaz saying “The cockfighting arena is like my home” …
… so I can post this.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: David Letterman returned to his old show, the Late Show, Thursday night, and once again threw stuff off the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughtsand check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcasthosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotifyor Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Xand Instagram.
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JIMMY TRAINA
Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.
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