Last in a series:

The NFL didn’t just give the NFL Network more games. The league also gave the network an improved schedule.

NFL Network kicks off its expanded 13-game schedule Thursday with Chicago-Green Bay at Lambeau Field. I’m sure ESPN would have preferred that hated rivalry game over Baltimore whipping Cincinnati for its Monday night debut.

Then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the NFL took care of its own with a marquee opener. The league wants to build this enterprise, which is a big reason why the Thursday night package landed on NFL Network as opposed to another network.

More Thursday night games will help drive more eyeballs to the network. And it will put more pressure on Time Warner Cable, the lone holdout with Cablevision now in the fold, to finally come to a resolution with the NFL Network.

During a conference call, I addressed those issues with Mark Quenzel, senior vice president of production and programming for NFL Network.

What is the impact on the network of having games in September as opposed to starting in November? 

Quenzel: I think we have a lot of great quality programming, some great people and great shows on our network, and great analysis that we do.  But the bottom line is there’s nothing that even comes close to games.  And to be able to have five additional games to start the season, to be able to deliver that kind of value, and to have the kind of promotional platform that games bring, allows you to talk about everything else you’re doing. Our network is a lot more than just games obviously, and it allows us to tell our fans, to tell NFL fans, what else is out there that they can watch and be a part of.  So that’s a huge thing.

What does it mean for the distribution of the NFL Network?

Quenzel: Obviously we are thrilled Cablevision came on two weeks ago, and that’s a big, big score for us, particularly in the New York market. It’s a big deal.  Obviously a lot has been written about Time Warner, and they’re the only major carrier that doesn’t have NFL Network.  I’m hoping, I think we’re all hoping, that we can figure it out because there are a lot of NFL fans in those Time Warner markets, and they deserve to see the 13 games, and they deserve to see all the other programming and have that choice.

I’m hopeful that we can work something out with them, and I think that would be obviously to everybody’s advantage, but clearly to the NFL fan, that’s the best thing that could possibly happen.

Regarding the schedule, it seems like this is the best NFL Network ever has had. The league obviously owns the channel; they make the schedule. Is there any connection there? What goes into determining who gets what games?

Quenzel: As in most things with the National Football League, and I’m telling you from my heart, it’s an incredibly level playing field.  I go in there, there’s a gentleman named Howard Katz, who is the master of all things with the schedule, and I go in probably right behind the ESPN guys and right behind the NBC guys and I beg Howard for the best games I can possibly get, and he looks at me and smiles and says, I’ll see what I can do.

But the point is I think that ‑‑ look, I know it’s the NFL Network, but speaking frankly, we have some great, great partners that pay us a fair amount ‑‑ pay the NFL a fair amount of money, and they deserve great games.  So while I’m thrilled about our schedule, I think if you look at it, I think if you asked Fox how they felt about Green Bay‑San Francisco yesterday or NBC with Peyton Manning against the Steelers last night, I think they feel pretty good about their games, too.

I’m thrilled with the schedule.  I think that we got some great games to start off, and I think we’ve got some real potential, particularly in the back end of the schedule, New Orleans‑Atlanta, obviously Denver‑Oakland, those games, divisional games, so I am thrilled with it.  But I do think if you look across the entire spectrum of our broadcast partners that everyone has got some things to be excited about, particularly after yesterday and some of the initial ratings I’ve seen from (week 1) look like they’re pretty darned good.

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Continuity in the booth

For once, one thing that won’t change for the NFL Network is the announce team. Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock return for their second year in the booth with Alex Flanagan on the sidelines.

That’s no small item for a network that has struggled with its announcing team. Remember Bryant Gumbel on play-by-play?

Continuity is a good thing. Nessler, Mayock and Flanagan appear to be in for the long haul.

Quenzel: It’s not a secret that we’ve had a little bit of a revolving door in terms of our on‑air talent for Thursday Night Football. The three of them I thought were spectacular last year, jumping in, by the way, for the first time really together and trying to do it midway through the season.  To have them back for a second year, to start at the beginning of the season, I can’t tell you how excited I am about being able to do 13 games with them and really being able to get a rhythm because I think they’re fantastic.

Nessler:  Mark talked about Mike and Alex and I, and our production team.  We kind of feel like we were just getting revved up when the season ended for us last year because of the half‑season schedule, and so this year we’re ready to go full bore.