Channel 5 To Broadcast Two Live NFL Games Per Week Under New Paramount-NFL Pact

Two live NFL games will be broadcast on Channel 5 every week during the upcoming football season under a new pact between Paramount UK, the NFL, and CBS Sports.

Channel 5 will broadcast two Sunday evening games, the first at 6 pm on 5 and the second at 9 pm on 5ACTION, which the company said will be branded as 5NFL for game nights. Both will be free-to-air.

Under the deal, the broadcaster will also show the Super Bowl free-to-air in the UK alongside the annual NFL London and Dublin international games, as well as Thanksgiving Day specials and three playoff games.

NFLcoverage on 5 will be hosted by Dermot O’Leary with Sam Quek and Osi Umenyiora. Production house Hungry Bear Media will partner with 5 on what the companies have described as a “new play-along entertainment format” that will air before the 6 pm games. 

At 9 pm, the second game on 5ACTION will be hosted by Quek and Umenyiora.  They will be joined by special guests each week. The executive producers for Hungry Bear Media are Dan Baldwin and Luke Shiach.

Gerrit Meier, Managing Director and Head of NFL International, described the deal as a “significant step in bringing more NFL coverage on a weekly basis to the UK than ever before.”

“The NFL brings people together, through both a sport and entertainment lens, and the live game coverage and ‘NFL: Big Game Night’ format will engage fans and invite newcomers to enjoy the sport as we look to continue to grow fandom in the UK,” Meier said. 

Ben Frow, Chief Content Officer at Paramount UK, added: “5 continues to grow its sport offering and this partnership with the NFL represents a real step forward, bringing fans and families live games in primetime, all completely free-to-air. “NFL: Big Game Night’ is a bold new format that brings the thrill of live sport together with the fun of play-along entertainment.”

The 2025 NFL season kicks off on September 5 with the Cowboys at the Eagles, the reigning Super Bowl champions.