It’s a great time of the year to be an NFL fan.
If NFL action on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays wasn’t enough to get your fix, there is another day of pro football coming to your weekly schedule.
In Week 15, there will be a three-game slate of NFL football on Saturday. All three contests come with heavy playoff implications, too.
The Vikings will take on the Bengals in a matchup between two teams fighting for a wild card berth in their respective conferences. The Steelers are also clinging on to wild card hopes, going against a Colts team that is in the hunt to win the AFC South. To close the slate, the surging Broncos will look to continue to climb up the AFC West against a Lions team that is still hoping for a chance to claim the top seed in the NFC playoffs.
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And while all of these games are exciting, why are they falling on a Saturday? The Sporting News has answers below.
Why are there NFL games on Saturday?
The complex reasoning is because of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 says that broadcasting rights of pro sports leagues are exempt from antitrust decisions, but it also contains language that says the NFL cannot broadcast games on Fridays and Saturdays for most of the season.
That is to prevent the NFL from playing or broadcasting games in competition with college and high school football during their respective seasons.
However, when the college football regular season and championship games end in early December, that leaves an opening for the NFL to play games on Saturdays. Thus, leading to Saturday NFL games around this point of the season each year.
NFL Saturday schedule 2023 Week 15
Saturday, Dec. 16
Matchup Time (ET) TV channel/StreamBengals vs. Vikings 1 p.m. NFL Network, FuboColts vs. Steelers 4:30 p.m. NFL Network, FuboLions vs. Broncos 8:15 p.m. NFL Network, Fubo
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What channel are the NFL games on Saturday?
Saturday’s slate of games is an NFL Network tripleheader, as has become a tradition. Cord-cutters can stream the games on Fubo, which offers a free trial.
Fans in Canada can watch every NFL game on DAZN.
Bengals vs. Vikings
- Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
- TV (national): NFL Network
- Live stream: NFL+, Fubo (free trial in U.S.)
Colts vs. Steelers
- Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. ET
- TV (national): NFL Network
- Live stream: NFL+, Fubo (free trial in U.S.)
Lions vs. Broncos
- Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET
- TV (national): NFL Network
- Live stream: NFL+, Fubo (free trial in U.S.)
