Get ready for more awful NFL games getting national attention. After a season of huge ratings despite poor football play, CBS and the NFL have decided to renew their Thursday Night Football partnership.
Just like this past season, CBS will air the first eight TNF games of the 2015 season, which will simultaneously air on the NFL Network. The last eight games of the season will be produced by CBS Sports, but will be exclusive to the NFL Network.
If the 2015 season is just as successful as 2014, the NFL can pick up an option for 2016.
“We are pleased to extend our partnership with CBS for Thursday Night Football," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "The promotion and production by CBS and NFL Network last season made Thursday night a night for NFL football. We look forward to working again next season with CBS."
It’s a great deal for CBS because it gives them even more airtime to promote its coverage of Super Bowl 50 in February 2016.
“I could not be more proud of the job the CBS Sports team did in conjunction with our partners at the NFL in producing, branding and positioning Thursday Night Football as a television destination for viewers," Sean McManus, Chairman of CBS Sports, added. "The awareness and viewership for Thursday Night Football grew dramatically in 2014, and we look forward to continuing this trend."
After just a month into 2014 the season, NFL fans began complaining about how terrible the games were. As USA Today noted in October, the first five TNF games featured victories of 20 points or more.
image courtesy of Dara Kushner/INFphoto.com