Why The CW’s Sudden Exit from Inside the NFL Has Fans and Insiders Buzzing

There’s something almost poetic about Inside the NFL finding itself adrift once more — a relic that once commanded Sunday nights before the internet’s tidal wave swallowed traditional highlights shows whole. It’s been the battlefield for shifting networks, donning new homes like worn jerseys: HBO, Showtime, Paramount+, and recently The CW. But now, with The CW stepping back, the question looming large isn’t just about where it’ll land next season — it’s whether anyone still cares. Despite attempts to jazz it up, including roping in Bill Belichick, the spark that once set hearts racing seems all but extinguished. The NFL media circus swarms with content at every turn, making it cruelly obvious: If Inside the NFL is going to stay relevant, it must shed its old skin and reinvent itself completely… or risk fading into oblivion. After all, simply repackaging highlights won’t cut it anymore — fans want exclusive, magnetic stories they can’t find anywhere else. The industry waits with bated breath — will this venerable institution find a new pulse, or has its time quietly passed? <a href="https://puck.news/newsletters/the-varsity/?utmcampaign=The+Varsity+-+SUBSCRIBERS+%285%2F29%2F25%29&utmcontent=The+Varsity+-+SUBSCRIBERS+%285%2F29%2F25%29&utmmedium=emailaction&utmsource=customer.io&utmterm=f6c6060e9bb201bc831b”>LEARN MORE

Still, the overriding question is whether anyone will watch. It never creates news, never moves the needle. Even with Bill Belichick on the show in 2024, it was a tree that fell in an empty forest. (Indeed, the only news it made last year came from the hiring of Belichick.) As Ourand notes, there aren’t many options. Ourand adds that the league has opened talks with “several interested parties,” but no announcement is imminent. Some network may view buying the show as a price to be paid to otherwise have a good relationship with the league.A must-watch highlights repository in the days before the Internet, Inside the NFL has struggled in recent years. John Ourand of Puck reports that the show will be on the move, again.ble conclusion could be that there’s no longer a seat at the table for Inside the NFL.Inside the NFL is on the outside looking in, again.

After an extended run at HBO, Inside the NFL spent 13 years at Showtime before a brief run at Paramount+. It’s unknown where it will land in 2025.If the show is going to survive, it needs to be ripped down and reimagined. Highlights are everywhere. Debates are everywhere. Interviews are everywhere. Inside the NFL needs to come up with a fresh approach that gives the audience something that it wants — and something that it can’t get anywhere else.In an ever crowded landscape of NFL media options, it’s entirely possible that this is impossible. And the inescapaThe CW held the rights to the weekly program for the past two years. It has decided not to renew the show.