How To Tune In For 'Thursday Night Football'
JOSH DUBOW, AP Sports Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — "Thursday Night Football" will air on both CBS and NBC next season.
The NFL has agreed to a two-year deal with the networks, the league announced Monday. CBS had broadcast games in partnership with NFL Network the past two seasons.
A person familiar with the contracts told The Associated Press the deals are worth $450 million for 10 games, five each on CBS and NBC. CBS paid $300 million for eight games in 2015.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not made public.
The new contracts for 2016 and '17 increase the number of games on traditional broadcast TV by two. They will again be simulcast on NFL Network.
NFL Network will still televise eight games exclusively, which will include late-season Saturday matchups and other to-be-determined games.
The league is also negotiating with digital companies for a separate streaming rights deal, which will be announced soon.
The NFL launched "Thursday Night Football" on cable channel NFL Network in 2006 with eight games, which grew to 13 by 2012. In 2014, the league partnered with CBS for a 16-game slate — half simulcast on CBS and NFL Network and half solely on NFL Network.
CBS will broadcast the first half of the season and NBC the second. Both networks will use their top broadcasting teams and contribute to the production of the NFL Network-only games.
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