NFL awards Thursday contract to CBS... [View all]

[Upton]

The NFL has decided to shift eight of its Thursday night games to a broadcast network, and announced Wednesday that CBS won the bid to showcase more of television's hottest property.

CBS will air the games during the first eight weeks of the season with its top broadcast team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, simulcasting them with the NFL Network. The league's cable network will show six Thursday night games alone later in the season, produced by CBS with Nantz and Simms also in the booth. Two Saturday games are included in the deal, but it is unclear whether they will be on CBS or the NFL Network.
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The NFL started a limited package of Thursday games in 2006, and showed 13 games on the NFL Network this past season. Its goal is to both increase the visibility of the NFL Network through promotion on television's most-watched network, along with putting the Thursday games on firmer footing, said Brian Rolapp, the league's executive vice president for media.
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''We want to make Thursday night football as big as possible in the minds of the NFL fan,'' Rolapp said.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-awards-thursday-contract-cbs-183853252--nfl.html

Well, if nothing else, this should cut down on the number of people complaining they can't see the Thursday games because they don't get the NFL Network.