The National Football League has announced a new 5-year deal with FOX, the first time the NFL has agreed to a long-term deal with a network partner for Thursday Night Football.
“This agreement is the culmination of over 10 years of strategic growth around Thursday Night Football, a period during which this property has grown from a handful of late season games on NFL Network to a full season of games and one of the most popular shows on broadcast television with additional distribution via cable and digital channels,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said of the new deal in an official statement.
“As one of the leaders in sports television and a recognized innovator of NFL game broadcasts for many years, we’re excited to be extending our partnership with FOX Sports, one of our most trusted and valued partners, to include Thursday Night Football.”
The winning bid submitted by Fox for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package is worth $550 million a year, according to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily.
The report also indicates that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will not be the broadcast team calling Thursday night games for FOX.
FOX will air 11 games each season between Week 4 and Week 15 and TNF will continue to be simulcast on NFL Network.
The games will broadcast in Spanish on Fox Deportes.
CBS and NBC submitted bids that were smaller than their current deals. likely prompting the NFL to lean to the FOX deal.
