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Denver Native (Carol)
01-13-2014, 02:24 PM
NEW YORK -- The NFL is talking to television networks about selling a package of Thursday night games.

"NFL Network has done a tremendous job building Thursday night and will retain games, but we are in discussions to air a part of the package with existing and potentially new broadcast and cable partners," league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Sunday.

NFL Network began airing an eight-game package in 2006, which increased to 13 in 2012. The league could sell some of those games to an outside network, starting as soon as next season.

As the NFL keeps drawing monster TV ratings, any additional games are hugely appealing to networks. The competition for a potential package is even greater with the recent addition of cable channel Fox Sports 1 and NBC's attempts to grow NBCSN. Turner Sports also could be among the potential suitors.

rest - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10284375/nfl-sell-some-thursday-night-games-new-network

CrazyHorse
01-13-2014, 05:29 PM
I'm not sure how other people feel but I'm not a fan of Thursday games.

tomjonesrocks
01-13-2014, 05:36 PM
I'm not sure how other people feel but I'm not a fan of Thursday games.

This. I hate them. Really tough on the teams and routinely have to miss the 1st or 2nd quarter due to normal work hours.

GEM
01-13-2014, 05:48 PM
I hate Thursday night games. I think they screw the teams that have to play them. Plus with work on Friday, it's just not fun to watch.

Nomad
01-13-2014, 05:49 PM
I'm not sure how other people feel but I'm not a fan of Thursday games.

It's for college football.

Canmore
01-13-2014, 05:55 PM
I'm in the minority it seems. I like Thursday night games.

Day1BroncoFan
01-13-2014, 06:22 PM
My wife doesn't like Thursday night games and I only watch if the Broncos play. I wouldn't miss them but I watch if I can. I don't have to get up early and go to work though.

sneakers
01-13-2014, 06:25 PM
Thursday night football is usually terrible quality

MOtorboat
01-13-2014, 06:25 PM
I like watching NFL Football on Thursday night, but the games aren't very good, and I think that's because teams don't have enough prep time.

For years the Thanksgiving games were kind of a mess, and I think it's for the same reason.

OrangeHoof
01-13-2014, 07:13 PM
Can't wait for more of those classic Texans-Jaguars and Rams-Cardinals matchups...

Joel
01-13-2014, 07:49 PM
Pro football belongs on Sunday, with an exception for ONE marquee Monday game in prime time so the whole nation can watch too great teams battle it out in a potential playoff preview. The rest is just a confusing mess solely for the sake of ephemeral profits. Those "monster ratings" are all very relative; this years ratings are probably up, but the NFL must certainly hope so since the 2012 ratings were DOWN 5% from 2011 (and remember, 2011 was the lockout year.)

The NFL's near or past the point of running out of bread before they run out of butter, and scraping it pretty thin already. Spin it out however they like, if the Thursday night games were drawing ever increasing ratings and profits, the NFL wouldn't be shopping the games to other networks: The whole point of NFLN was for the NFL to air its own crap and take the subscription and ad revenue directly rather than via middlemen. Offering to scrap the biggest part of that is a tacit admission it's not working too well.

Expect more defensive restrictions to promote big 'splosions from the office, and more pink flags easily mistaken for challenge flags. Maybe "Play 60+OT" next year, and Bruno Mars can do the halftime show at EVERY game instead of just the SB. And the London Jaguars, of course, a team so great their cheerleaders do NFL commercials in Britain because, really, who would pay for ANYTHING featuring Blaine Gabbert?

Northman
01-13-2014, 07:53 PM
I would be ok if they were Friday night. That middle of the week shit sucks.

Joel
01-13-2014, 08:00 PM
I would be ok if they were Friday night. That middle of the week shit sucks.
Fridays are for varsity games—just like Thursdays are for JV. Seriously, NFL, most of the week was pretty neatly divided up half a century ago. If you MUST have a pro game on some off the wall day, Tuesday and Wednesday are open most places; maybe you could move MNF so it doesn't conflict with freshman games anymore.

Joel
01-13-2014, 08:09 PM
Seriously, the NFL needs to accept the reality that NFLN will never be ESPN, because ESPN has plenty of fodder year 'round but NFLN is dead air from February till September. No one wants to buy a subscription to something they only use once a week for half a year, and no one wants to buy ads no one ever sees. The NFLN is only appealing to people who couldn't care less about all other sports but so obsessed with football they'd actually enjoy a couple hours in July watching Garo Yepremiam discuss his whole life in detail.

That's basically me, and I'm telling you: No way in HELL this EVER makes money. Sure, I watch preseason, and I'd watch the Ice Bowl, the Freezer Bowl, the Drive, the Fumble; with enough booze I might even rewatch The Comeback— I just won't PAY for the privilege, and if I won't there aren't even a million people in a nation of 320 million who will. It's a money pit: Get out NOW.

BroncoJoe
01-13-2014, 08:22 PM
They ought to have the bye-week teams play the Thursday games. Problem solved.

Buff
01-13-2014, 08:33 PM
Scrap Thursday night football, but bring back late season Saturday games.

Traveler
01-14-2014, 12:57 PM
Guessing most NFL teams hate the Thursday games too due to shortened week of preparation..

Broncolingus
01-14-2014, 01:39 PM
They ought to have the bye-week teams play the Thursday games. Problem solved.

...I thought the same exact thing a while back.

...guess I wasn't the only one smokin crack :D

PatriotsGuy
01-14-2014, 01:41 PM
Scrap Thursday night football, but bring back late season Saturday games.

this

Mike
01-14-2014, 01:43 PM
Only time I watch the Thurs game is when Denver is playing and/or on Thanksgiving. They should go back to Thanksgiving only. I would prefer if they went back to the last couple of weeks of the season having the games on Sat/Sun though.

OrangeHoof
01-14-2014, 08:16 PM
They ought to have the bye-week teams play the Thursday games. Problem solved.

The obvious problem with that idea is that it would mean that bye weeks would be spread out throughout the whole season in order to make the schedule work. If you are waiting until the next-to-last week of the season for your bye or taking your bye in Week 2, it ceases to be the sort of mid-season break the union envisioned.

pulse
01-14-2014, 09:19 PM
I'm down with late season Saturday night games. I think the NFL would gain in ratings over Thursday night games simply because of working folks. If they want to keep a Thursday night game, fine. But it would be a lot easier on teams and scheduling to take advantage of Saturday nights in December, IMO.

Shazam!
01-15-2014, 12:05 AM
I'm all for more games on more days bit it has to be configured in a way that the teams have more time to prepare.