NFL TV schedule question

[Ponch8]

On Sunday afternoons, it used to be that NFC games were always on Fox, and AFC games were always on CBS. (When an AFC team played an NFC team, the game would air on the home of the visiting team.)

Earlier this year, the Bears hosted the AFC Bills, but the game was on Fox. This weekend, the Bears play the NFC Vikings, but it’s on CBS. (Not that I’m likely to watch the Bears anymore this year anyway.) What was the reason for the change?

[AlsoNamedBort]

It’s cross-flexing:

After a Broncos-Vikings game was moved to Fox in 2011 because of Fox having a lack of games, the NFL permanently instituted a “cross-flex” policy in 2014 allowing Fox games to be moved to CBS and CBS games moved to Fox to protect each local market; this effectively guarantees each Fox and CBS affiliate in a team’s primary market to carry at least one game from the team during the season. With CBS later also picking up most Thursday games, which are not designated by conference, CBS will air many more NFC games than Fox will air AFC games. For example, when Fox aired AFC game during week 6 of the 2014 season, CBS had already aired four NFC games to that point in the season (two on Thursdays and two on Sundays). (FOX aired Bills @ Chicago Bears week 1.)

[fiddlesticks]

One of the notable cross-flexes this year was Seattle-Carolina in Week 8. Had the game not been flexed, the game would have only aired in very limited markets because of other games Fox was airing at 1 ET. But the move to CBS allowed it to be a near national broadcast because CBS only had 3 conventional AFC matchups in the 1 ET slot. (Maps here.)