Press release presented as written by the NFL.
GAMES ON!
75 DISTRIBUTORS INK DEALS TO CARRY NFL NETWORK ON EXPANDED
BASIC RIGHTS INCLUDE AIRING OF NFL NET'S PRIMETIME GAMES
NFL Network announced today the completion of 75 affiliation agreements with cable companies to carry the 24-hour, year-round football channel from the National Football League -- including the rights to air its primetime regular season games this fall.
All of the deals are for the "expanded basic" level of service, meaning the most broadly distributed package the video provider offers. All distributors will also get to carry NFL Network's exclusive national slate of 52 preseason games as well as benefit from the ability to sell ads in programming targeted to America’s most
avid fans, NFL fans.
Cable operators are signing up at a torrid pace since NFL Network became the exclusive home to the new primetime regular season NFL games package and announced that Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth would be the Network's primary broadcast team.
NFL Network will televise 168 football games in 2006, including preseason, regular season, game re-airs, NFL Europe League, the Insight Bowl and Senior Bowl games, in addition to the most robust and popular sports Video-On-Demand content in the industry.
"We have had terrific partnerships with the distributors who have been carrying NFL Network the past two years," said Brian Decker, NFL Network's vice president, national accounts. "They recognize the value proposition NFL Network offers and the opportunities an association with the NFL presents, so these newcomers to NFL Network will begin to see immediate benefits to being part of our team."
These new and existing NFL Network distributors have received significant advertising inventory during each NFL Net game telecast. This telecast time represents some of the most valuable and sought after advertising opportunities in cable. NFL games accounted for 9 of the 10 most watched basic cable programs in 2005 and NFL football has been the No. 1 rated series on cable for 19 consecutive years -- since its inception in 1987.
With the creation of the new primetime Thursday/Saturday package of games -- the first new NFL game package in sixteen years -- the cable industry is in a position to reap substantial benefits.
NFL Network plans nearly 2,000 hours of original programming in the coming year, including 52 preseason games, 75 game re-airs, 8 primetime games, plus the expansion of programming including a half-dozen series in the fall.
NFL Network airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the first television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For more information, log onto
NFL Network
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