Fox and NFL partnership shows no tension, Lachlan Murdoch says, as network adds historic Sunday to schedule
Lachlan Murdoch, Fox’s chairman and CEO, announced on an earnings call Monday morning that Fox will air the NFL triple-header for the first time on television next season.
The tripleheader will kick off with an early morning game in Munich (on the east coast of the United States) featuring the Detroit Lions and a team to be announced on Thursday, followed by another game in the 1pm window and then another game in the 4pm window.
Yep, that’s it for Fox’s NFL football for Week 10 of next season.
A Fox Sports cameraman operates a broadcast camera during the NFL game between the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire)
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“The NFL has been an important partner with Fox in a mutually beneficial relationship for more than 30 years,” Murdoch said on the call. he said. “To underscore this relationship with the NFL, Fox yesterday acquired the rights to two additional NFL games in national windows for the upcoming season.
‘The first one will be released in the 10th week. Both are national matches… I think this will be Munich’s international match. “That will give us a triple header that Sunday, which I think will be the first triple header on broadcast TV in history.”
Murdoch said that the second game purchased by Fox will air on the Saturday of Week 15.
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The additional games on the network speak for themselves, but Murdoch and CFO Steve Tomsic were asked about potential tensions between Fox and the NFL and whether they expect the media giant to try to renegotiate the league’s current contract following various media reports.
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Fox Sports broadcast crew Tom Brady, Tom Rinaldi, Kevin Burkhardt, Erin Andrews and Dean Blandino pose before the NFL game between the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field on September 21, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)
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Murdoch backtracked, saying there had been “no significant discussions” about renegotiating the contract, which had four years remaining.
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“I think the important note to note here, and this gets to your second question, is there really no tension with the NFL?” he said. “We have been partners for 30 years. We look forward to being partners for the next 30 years. You know, as we mentioned before, we have four years left in our current agreement.
“We’ve read speculation that the NFL wants to renegotiate and extend the current deal or existing deals in the market, but we haven’t had any serious discussions with the NFL about that. Other than what we’ve read in the press about speculation about that, it’s very difficult. I wouldn’t want to add anything to that speculation.”
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Rupert Murdoch and Lachlan Murdoch were photographed together. (FOX Corp.)
Murdoch really wants the relationship with the NFL to continue to improve, environment permitting.
“…We want to kind of expand and deepen our relationship with the NFL, but we’re only going to do it in a disciplined way,” he said. “You know, it’s really taking some, creating value for our shareholders for a long-term shareholder value.”
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