The NFL is rolling out the money machine again.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times and John Ourand of Sports Business Daily report that the league is shopping a package of six to eight Thursday night games of the 13 that aired on its NFL Network.
If the league likes an offer it receives, the winning network will televise the games in the first half of the season, which would ideally give a promotional boost to NFL Network for its later-season games. The league’s preference would probably be a broadcast network like NBC, CBS or Fox, but it would also be pleased if a cable channel got the package. It is conceivable, for example, that ESPN would buy the deal and put the games on ABC, its sibling network in the Walt Disney empire.
TNT also would be in the hunt for the package.
The NFL is auctioning a one-year deal with a bigger TV channel to help build “Thursday Night Football” into the same high-powered brand as “Sunday Night Football,” which is the top-rated show in primetime, and “MNF,” which is the top-rated show on cable. It is likely that the NFL will use the one-year deal as a springboard for a longer Thursday night deal.
Can Thursday night games reach that level? The players don’t like them, and they were mostly panned this year by critics and fans. The short weeks seem to produce lower quality games that are sloppier and move slower than the Sunday/Monday games.
Yet the NFL is the ratings king. Airing a Thursday night package of games on a NBC, CBS, ABC or Fox definitely would take them to another level. You would have to think those networks will be interested.
However, the price likely will be outrageous. The winner will have to break the bank to get it done.
Bottom line: More big money for NFL.