[PR] THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Comes to TSN, CTV, CTV Two and RDS

[lostjon]

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL Comes to TSN, CTV, CTV Two, and RDS

– Multi-year Canadian NFL broadcast extension sees NFL football in Canada air on TSN, CTV, CTV Two, and RDS, with featured games in all of the league’s broadcast windows –

– The agreement includes the NFL’s slate of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL games which will air on TSN and CTV Two for the first time, and return to RDS, beginning with the 2017 season –

– Expanded agreement also involves additional digital rights, and expanded footage and programming rights –


June 7, 2017

TORONTO (June 7, 2017) – Bell Media and the National Football League (NFL) today announced a multi-year rights agreement extension that makes Bell Media the exclusive broadcast partner of the NFL in Canada. With featured games in all of the league’s broadcast windows airing across Bell Media properties, the partnership also features expanded digital opportunities which include syndication rights for NFL highlights in Canada, as well as expanded footage and programming rights to further bolster Bell Media’s non-game NFL-focused content.
The expanded agreement also includes the NFL’s THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL package, which will air on TSN and CTV Two for the first time, and return to RDS, beginning with the 2017 season. With the addition of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, TSN and RDS further strengthen their NFL programming, with primetime content three nights a week from the powerful NFL brand.
With the new agreement, NFL coverage on Bell Media now includes:
• Thursday Night regular-season games, airing on TSN/CTV Two and RDS
• Sunday at 1 p.m. regular-season games, airing on TSN, CTV, and RDS
• Sunday at 4 p.m. regular-season games, airing on TSN, CTV, and RDS
• Sunday Night regular-season games, airing on TSN/CTV Two and RDS
• Monday Night regular-season games, airing on TSN and RDS
• All Playoff Games
• The Super Bowl
“The NFL continues to deliver strong audiences in all broadcast windows, and we are proud to expand our longstanding partnership to make Bell Media the exclusive broadcast home of NFL action in Canada,” said Stewart Johnston, President, Bell Media Studios and TSN. “With this new agreement, TSN and RDS will air three nights of primetime content weekly from the biggest sports property in North America. The NFL is a respected brand to both fans and advertisers alike, and we’re excited to deliver an even bigger NFL schedule across our platforms, and with the expanded digital rights and expanded footage and highlight rights, showcase the NFL like never before.”
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Bell Media in Canada to bring our Canadian fans NFL coverage through Bell Media’s broad portfolio of channels,” said Mark Waller, NFL Executive Vice President of International & Events. “Through this expanded agreement, NFL fans will now be able to view NFL action across all NFL broadcast Windows conveniently within Bell Media’s family of channels.”
As part of Bell Media’s commitment to the NFL, and as the home of football on television in Canada, TSN continues to be Canada’s source for NFL news and information, led by SPORTSCENTRE. TSN.ca will also feature increased fantasy content, while the network delivers a comprehensive slate of NFL programming from ESPN, including NFL COUNTDOWN, NFL LIVE, NFL PRIMETIME, MONDAY NIGHT COUNTDOWN, and the NFL DRAFT. Additionally, TSN broadcasts the Sunday night pre-game show FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA.
TSN has been televising NFL games since 1987, and CTV’s partnership with the NFL began in 2007.
For More Information:
For Bell Media:
Christy Sullivan, (w) 416.384.3624, (c) 416.557.2840, christy.sullivan@bellmedia.ca
For NFL:
Darlene Capiro, (w) 212.450.2175, (c) 917.887.6211, darlene.capiro@nfl.com

[InMontreal]

In the states, Thursday Night Football moves entirely to Fox.

Thursday Night Football Moves to Fox From CBS/NBC, in Massive 5-Year Deal

Facing an otherwise uncertain future, Fox has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to Thursday Night Football.

The massive five-year deal — which is valued at an annual $550 million — will go into effect this fall, with Fox set to broadcast 11 regular-season games between Weeks 4 and 15 of the NFL season, according to our sister site Variety. The deal excludes the Thanksgiving night game, which will continue to air on NBC.

The Thursday Night Football package, which initially consisted of eight games, was acquired by CBS as part of a two-year deal in 2014. Beginning in 2016, the NFL negotiated two five-game packages which were sold to CBS and NBC. Both networks thus had to start their regular Thursday lineups late, several weeks into the fall season, or take those scripted shows off the air for a month-plus, making for a hard-to-follow schedule.

Word of the Fox’s interest in Thursday Night Football came seven weeks after it was announced that the Walt Disney Company is expected to acquire 21st Century Fox in a merger valued at a staggering $52.4 billion. The deal, which does not include the Fox broadcasting network and “divorces” the home of Homer Simpson from its production studio, has led to doubt about the network’s future in the scripted content game. Should the merger be approved (which, by all accounts, could take 12 to 18 months), much of the broadcaster’s primetime lineup is expected to consist of news, live sports and cheap, unscripted fare.

http://tvline.com/2018/01/31/thursda...l-2018-rights/

[lostjon]

In the end, it looks to be a win-win for all parties.

CBS and NBC can go back to running their primetime lineups without any disruptions.

For one, CBS will not hesitate for a second to keep The Big Bang Theory on Thursday, especially with all the speculation that next season is looking to be its last, while keeping it paired with Young Sheldon. To that effect, CBS won't have to adjust their lineup on Monday nights either.

NBC has been looking to re-establish their Thursday lineup with sitcoms.

FOX has never had any big ratings performers on the night in recent years - The Orville did well enough to earn a second season, but is not expected to return until sometime in 2019. Plus, with the FOX-Disney deal, this marks the start of the network's gradual transition away from scripted programming. This is a considerable improvement for the network.


As for the Canadian networks, Thursday Night Football will continue to air on TSN and CTV Two.

CTV: Same Thursday night lineup they already have (Grey's Anatomy in pre-release with Big Bang/Young Sheldon in simulcast). Can't see ABC or CBS making any changes.

Global: With their schedule consisting primarily of NBC shows, at least they will no longer have to bench their lineup in November.