Who's Next?

The NFL’s annual Thursday-Saturday package makes its return on the league’s television outlet tonight with the Bears traveling to S.F. NFL Network has significantly increased the amount of households it is in from this time last year, buoyed by Comcast moving the channel to its digital basic tier. However, with Time Warner still holding out on signing a carriage deal, there still are some obstacles to overcome before it reaches the same distribution levels as ESPN or TBS. The L.A. TIMES’ Jon Weinbach notes one sure way to put pressure on MSOs to pick up NFL Net is to put more regular-season games on the channel in the future, a possibility NFL Net boss Steve Bornstein admits he has not ruled out. Meanwhile, the relative lack of exposure for NFL Net has not kept some companies from sponsoring segments around its game broadcasts. Lexus will make its debut as title sponsor of the net’s pregame show, joining a list of backers that include Sprint and Kay Jewelers.