A coveted package of the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football” will be split between CBS and NBC, a maneuver that will introduce new complexity into the next fall TV season and attests to the leverage the sports league has in the current media-industry landscape, where mass audiences are harder to draw to scripted programming and reality shows.
For the past two seasons, CBS held sole rights to an eight-game package, which was simulcast on cable’s NFL Network. Now, each network will show five games each season over the course of a two-year deal: CBS will broadcast the first half of the schedule and NBC will televise the second half. while The NFL said all broadcast games will continue to be simulcast on NFL Network, which will exclusively televise an eight-game schedule of regular season games comprised of “Thursday Night Football,” late-season games on Saturday, and additional games to be determined.
The value of the pact was said to be $225 million per network, a big jump from the $300 million CBS was said to pay for eight games that were broadcast last year. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the news.
And the league has more to do with its mid-week franchise. The NFL said in a statement Monday that it’s “in active discussions with prospective digital partners” for streaming rights that would allow the games to be distributed by a digital player. “A deal announcement is expected in the near future.”
To read more visit Variety where this article was originally published
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
