Changes may be in store for the NFL’s "Thursday Night Football" schedule, according to reports on the bidding for the games’ media rights.
Fox is among the bidders and wants the games to remain on Thursday nights, but other suitors are proposing that the league schedule only teams coming off byes, or that some games are moved to different days of the week, Bloomberg News reports.
Such changes would be welcomed by the many NFL observers who have found Thursday night games to lack in quality.
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While NBC and CBS, each of which aired Thursday night games this season, are planning to bid again, SportsBusiness Journal (link requires subscription) reports ABC/ESPN has “emerged as a surprise bidder” for the Thursday night package.
But it’s possible the rights go to a purely digital company, which would mean the games would be streamed online exclusively, and not shown on traditional television. Amazon and Facebook have deep enough pockets to outbid any traditional media company, according to Bloomberg, and the NFL is willing to listen to online-only offers. Amazon paid $50 million for Thursday night streaming rights this past season.
“The league is going to make a watershed decision on whether to go for money or for distribution,” media consultant Neal Pilson, formerly president of CBS Sports, told Bloomberg. “With conventional networks like NBC or CBS you’re talking about distribution that’s reasonably guaranteed.”
CBS and NBC paid a combined $450 million to air 10 games this past year, but in light of sagging TV ratings, they’re looking to pay less this time around.
The NFL is expected to announce its decision the week before or after the Super Bowl.