Thursday Night Football has become as important to the mental stability of many everyday NFL fans ever since it came into existence back in 2006. Despite the fact that just about anyone who wants to see the Thursday night have access to it, the NFL apparently doesn’t feel like enough people get a chance to see the games. The key being that people will have to want to see the games. The NFL has confirmed that it is seeking a partner to show the primetime weeknight contests in conjunction with the NFL Network next season. The top bidders are Disney, ABC, CBS Fox, Comcast and Time Warner at this point. CBS Sports is saying the one-year deal will be worth around $800 million. According to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily, the league would like the games to be simulcast on NFL Network.
As Ourand points out, "The quality of the Thursday night matchups generally is the weakest among all of the NFL's TV partners," an insight that is illustrated by lower than average television ratings.
