NFL to televise eight Thursday night games on CBS

[dvrexpander]

AP Link:

The NFL says CBS will televise eight of its Thursday night games next season.

CBS won bidding for the games, an increasingly valuable property for network television. The games will be simulcast on the NFL Network and come during the first half of the season. The league's cable network will keep the second-half games for itself.

The NFL says the contract is for one year, and the league has an option to extend it for 2015. The CBS lead broadcasting team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will be in the booth for all 16 games.

Does anyone else see how stupid this is???? Do they really think going to Thursday nights will get ratings when most people are already watching a great college ball game on thursday nights!? They should have picked Tuesday or Wed night not Thursday night.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

And, as part of the announcement, the NFL has also confirmed that there will be two late-season Saturday games in 2014. Last year there were no Saturday regular-season games.

 

[Derwin0]

Does anyone else see how stupid this is???? Do they really think going to Thursday nights will get ratings when most people are already watching a great college ball game on thursday nights!? They should have picked Tuesday or Wed night not Thursday night.

What great college ball??

Tue & Wed are no go, since it's so close to the previous Sunday, and the NFL has already been having Thursday night games for a few years.
And sorry to say, but a Thursday NFL game on Network TV will easily kill the ESPN college game (especially since most of the SEC refuses to play on Thursday night), leaving it as mostly an ACC & Former Big East night, which lets face it, is now where compelling to the NFL.

 

[Scherrman]

AP Link:



Does anyone else see how stupid this is???? Do they really think going to Thursday nights will get ratings when most people are already watching a great college ball game on thursday nights!? They should have picked Tuesday or Wed night not Thursday night.

The Thursday night games are being played no matter what. All they are doing is getting a piece of the action. I actually think it's a great idea since it allows more people to watch the games. Not everyone has the ability to watch the NFL Network. I bowl on Thursday nights and they only have basic cable there which does not carry the NFL Network so I never get to see a game there.

 

[dfergie]

To much football, I miss most Thursday games ...

 

[cosmo_kramer]

There have been a lot of crap matchups on Thursday night games, seeing as the NFL used these games as a vehicle for every team to get a prime-time game. I wonder if that's going to change now with a network partner involved...

 

[Ramy]

I forget about the NFL Network games, maybe being on CBS will remind me to watch it.

 

[Teehar]

As an avid NFL fan I'll take any game I can get in HD on a Thursday,over any other program on tv.Haven't missed a single Thursday game yet.Personally I think they should do Monday and Thursday night double headers,that would give all 32 teams some national exposure.Plus it would increase the odds of me seeing the Eagles play on tv instead of the pc.

 

[CK SatGuy]

I'm surprised CBS picked it up. They already have a strong Thursday night lineup. Why replace it with NFL if they don't need it?

 

[Peter Parker]

Well I see CBS considering dropping a pair of sitcoms nw.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

I'm surprised CBS picked it up. They already have a strong Thursday night lineup. Why replace it with NFL if they don't need it?

Those programs can always be moved, and it keeps the competition from broadcasting the games against their shows...

 

[Hart5150]

AP Link:



Does anyone else see how stupid this is???? Do they really think going to Thursday nights will get ratings when most people are already watching a great college ball game on thursday nights!? They should have picked Tuesday or Wed night not Thursday night.

You do realize that the Thursday night games on NFL network at worst tripled the ESPN rating for Thursday college football?

With the games now available on CBS, it's only going to get worse for ESPN. I love College football but 99% of the Thursday night games are garbage.

 

[BillD1984]

There have been a lot of crap matchups on Thursday night games, seeing as the NFL used these games as a vehicle for every team to get a prime-time game. I wonder if that's going to change now with a network partner involved...

Was just gonna post the same thing as a I was reading through this thread. If they're gonna use Nantz and Simms, me thinks the matchups will generally be more marquee. I think the days of seeing the Jacksonvilles and Tennessees of the world may be over.

 

[BillD1984]

I forget about the NFL Network games, maybe being on CBS will remind me to watch it.

I agree. I think even in this day and age of a gazillion channels, having a game on OTA gives it a more "special" feeling.

 

[BillD1984]

Those programs can always be moved, and it keeps the competition from broadcasting the games against their shows...

I think this is a huge part of it.

 

[dvrexpander]

What great college ball??

Tue & Wed are no go, since it's so close to the previous Sunday, and the NFL has already been having Thursday night games for a few years.
And sorry to say, but a Thursday NFL game on Network TV will easily kill the ESPN college game (especially since most of the SEC refuses to play on Thursday night), leaving it as mostly an ACC & Former Big East night, which lets face it, is now where compelling to the NFL.

I figured you would chime in on the ACC and so on having most games on Thursday nights, keep in mind that one of the biggest defensive play makers of the Super Bowl came from Virginia Tech a ACC team. Either way I think its stupid to do this when Thursday Night games from CFB is still a huge draw. It really depends on teams I guess be it NFL or CFB on who's playing.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

The eighth year of live regular season primetime games on NFL Network again set rating and viewership records for the network in 2013. Including the audience from over-the-air broadcasts in local markets, NFL Network’s 13-game schedule of Thursday Night Football broadcasts finished with a record-high per game average audience of 8 million viewers in 2013, up 10% from 2012, marking the fifth consecutive year that Thursday Night Football has set an all-time high viewership mark for NFL Network.

For the season, Thursday Night Football on NFL Network averaged a 5.0 US HH rating (including OTA’s) – another record for the network – a 9% increase from the 2012 season. Each week of the 2013 Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network’s game telecast was the day’s most-watched program on cable television.

2013 ‘Thursday Night Football’ Schedule Sets Rating & Viewership Records for NFL Network

 

[Teehar]

The eighth year of live regular season primetime games on NFL Network again set rating and viewership records for the network in 2013. Including the audience from over-the-air broadcasts in local markets, NFL Network’s 13-game schedule of Thursday Night Football broadcasts finished with a record-high per game average audience of 8 million viewers in 2013, up 10% from 2012, marking the fifth consecutive year that Thursday Night Football has set an all-time high viewership mark for NFL Network.

For the season, Thursday Night Football on NFL Network averaged a 5.0 US HH rating (including OTA’s) – another record for the network – a 9% increase from the 2012 season. Each week of the 2013 Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network’s game telecast was the day’s most-watched program on cable television.

2013 ‘Thursday Night Football’ Schedule Sets Rating & Viewership Records for NFL Network

And I wonder why CBS bid for it.

 

[ashutto20]

NFL on Thursday easily will outperform college football...even the worst two teams in the NFL will do better ratings...Men lie Women lie Numbers dont...NFL is a ratings juggernaut

Plus they stand to make more $ off of this and that's what it really boils down to... $$$

 

[madmadworld]

just some how give the players a bye week before these games. can't be that hard, don't have them in weeks 2-4 etc ::::::