The NFL announces CBS will broadcast Thursday Night Football and two Saturday games

[Maynard]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...um=referral&utm_campaign=programming-national


The National Football League is teaming with CBS to provide fans with a new and improved Thursday Night Football package for the 2014 NFL season.

According to a press release via NFL Communications on Wednesday, Feb. 5, the network will air eight Thursday night games in the early part of the season (per SportsBusiness Journal's Eric Fisher). Those games will air simultaneously on NFL Network, which will broadcast the final eight late-season Thursday Night Football games.


The 16 Thursday Night Football matchups will consist of 14 Thursday games and two Saturday games, both of which are scheduled for the second half of the season as NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport points out via Twitter:


CBS will produce all 16 broadcasts and will feature Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the commentary booth. According to the release, NFL Network analysts will be seen during pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of each game.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has made the league's goal very clear, per the release: "NFL Network built Thursday into a night for NFL fans. Our goal is to bring these games to more fans on broadcast television with unprecedented promotion and visibility for Thursday Night Football on CBS."

President and CEO of CBS Leslie Moonves was also excited to confirm the partnership:

We are very pleased to build on our outstanding partnership with the NFL by expanding our coverage to Thursday nights. CBS is a premium content company and the NFL represents the best premium content there is. I look forward to all this new deal will do for us not only on Thursday nights, but across our entire schedule.

Considering the NFL has scheduled Thursday night games on a regular basis in past seasons, this new partnership shouldn't have much of an impact in terms of the season schedule. However, the fact that eight games will air on CBS means that a wider audience will be tuning in on Thursday nights during the first half of the season.

Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith speculated on a possible effect of this change:


The two late-season Saturday broadcasts will also shake things up for NFL fans. With the playoff race heating up in December, the two weekend showcases could potentially carry massive implications.

And with a presumably healthy partnership having just been taken to a new level, it's very possible the entire Thursday Night Football slate could soon be broadcast on network television.

 

[Houston]

At least with NFL Network Thursday night games were in the background and neatly hidden away. But now they're bringing this fail to network television?:smh:

 

[Maynard]

you are an idiot. why woulnt we want TNF on network TV over that disaster broadcast on NFL network. TNF isnt leaving, so if we have it then it might as well be on the networks.

 

[Houston]

:dead:

 

[Garrett67]

It's all about $$$$$


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Prop

 

[krulmichael]

Great....more Phil fucking Simms. :suicide:

Sent from the awesome LG G2 in all its 5.2 inch glory via Tapatalk 4.

 

[JimLeavy59]

Yay more bad football.

 

[NAHSTE]

Ah so the game I actively avoided each week will now be called by the crew which I actively avoid watching each week, and possibly the worst announcing duo in sports.

Sweet, sign me up.

 

[Houston]

Primetime NFL games gonna be directly competing with American Idol, American's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, etc...

:lol:

 

[jms493]

Warner called this right?

 

[Woy]

Kill Thursday night football already.

 

[BigBucs]

At least with NFL Network Thursday night games were in the background and neatly hidden away. But now they're bringing this fail to network television?:smh:

You dont watch sports anyway.

Primetime NFL games gonna be directly competing with American Idol, American's Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance, etc...

:lol:

All the shit you watch :iseeu:

 

[SuperKevin]

But what quality programming is CBS going to have to move or axe to make this work?

 

[Matt]

But what quality programming is CBS going to have to move or axe to make this work?

Already seen many articles about moving Big Bang Theory. Alan Sepinwells article was great.


Also I bet we don't see any team picking in Top 15 playing on the CBS Slate... we will see lots of good match-ups.

Bills - Browns type match ups will be saved for the NFLN slate. I do enjoy the Saturday games once college is done

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Warner called this right?

Honestly, when NFL news breaks people should just bump my threads from two years earlier.

Next up, a Wednesday night package on NFL Network after they force the rest of the Thursday package onto CBS at gun point.

Book it.

 

[wr50l]

If they're going to press on with this prime time spot then fine, but they have to make it so both teams are heading into TNF off of a bye week. Whether they can do that under the existing format or they need to add an additional bye week is up to them. But the current TNF product is poor - sloppy, tired execution, limited game planning - these are all the unavoidable result of the impossible Sunday to Thursday turnaround.

Another harsh truth here is that the NFL now needs to come up with an additional marquee game very week. Frankly, most weeks they struggle to come up with four worthwhile games to cover 1pm 4pm SNF and MNF. So if anyone thinks that it'll be good just because CBS aren't going to pay for rubbish games well ... they can't just conjure up some good contests, and any good TNF game is going to result in a stinker going on one of the main slots.

Lucky for the NFL, all of their fans gamble either on spreads or fantasy and can be drawn into watching rubbish games, even if they don't wish to admit that it's betting which is generating most of the league's popularity.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

If they're going to press on with this prime time spot then fine, but they have to make it so both teams are heading into TNF off of a bye week. Whether they can do that under the existing format or they need to add an additional bye week is up to them. But the current TNF product is poor - sloppy, tired execution, limited game planning - these are all the unavoidable result of the impossible Sunday to Thursday turnaround.

Another harsh truth here is that the NFL now needs to come up with an additional marquee game very week. Frankly, most weeks they struggle to come up with four worthwhile games to cover 1pm 4pm SNF and MNF. So if anyone thinks that it'll be good just because CBS aren't going to pay for rubbish games well ... they can't just conjure up some good contests, and any good TNF game is going to result in a stinker going on one of the main slots.

Lucky for the NFL, all of their fans gamble either on spreads or fantasy and can be drawn into watching rubbish games, even if they don't wish to admit that it's betting which is generating most of the league's popularity.

Great post, and bingo on the bold.

The watering down of Sunday afternoon, which is the backbone of the league that they spent decades establishing as a part of American culture, continues.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I've got another W2B special for you guys.

When the fantasy football boom stops, dips, and levels off someplace lower than it is now (and this will happen, like most fads), resulting in decreased interest in Browns vs Bills and Cardinals vs Rams on a week by week basis, the NFL will lobby under the cloak of darkness for legalized gambling.

Legalized gambling has always been the NFL ace in the hole. Give Johnny Casual, Gladys from marketing at your office, and Uncle Bob who is addicted to lotto the ability to easily & legally bet on NFL games, and NFL popularity will blow past where it is currently.

They haven't played that card because they haven't had to. But if they keep slowly killing Sunday and counting on the fantasy bubble to carry them, it'll happen. And the NFL is the only entity powerful enough to finally get America gambling on sports legally.

Give it a decade.

 

[NAHSTE]

Great post, and bingo on the bold.

The watering down of Sunday afternoon, which is the backbone of the league that they spent decades establishing as a part of American culture, continues.

It really doesn't make much sense. That's your brand. It's the thing you own. Why give that up? Sunday afternoon is sacred, and you can't buy that kind of built in routine-based brand equity.

I know the NFL is coming from a much loftier perch, but this is kind of like how college football bowls owned January 1 for decades, then the ABC execs let it bleed too far into the first and second week of January and weakened their hold on the date. And now on New Years Day, some people watch hockey teams play in baseball stadiums on NBC instead.

 

[KINGOFOOTBALL]

What am I paying 300$ to DTV for again ?