CBS' new 16-game primetime NFL package "will be heavy on NFC matchups," even though Fox "owns TV rights to that conference," according to Bob Raissman of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The CBS deal is "all about the NFL getting an inflated ratings number (by featuring big-time matchups) so it can kick the package on the street for open bidding" in '15. Raissman: "If this is the plan, the NFL will get a lot more than the $250 million CBS shelled out." Fox "won’t be the only NFL TV partner to be adversely impacted by this CBS move," as ESPN’s Thursday night college football package "will be eaten alive by the NFL on CBS." Meanwhile, sources said that the NFL "told all its TV partners if they wanted to even bid on the package they had to guarantee using their No. 1 team on the telecasts, which will also be simulcast on the NFL Network." CBS will feature the broadcasting team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms on the Thursday telecasts, leaving the net "with some decisions to make concerning Simms, who also has major roles" on CBS Sports Network’s "NFL Monday QB" and Showtime’s "Inside the NFL" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/9). SI.com's Richard Deitsch reported Simms and Nantz after calling the Thursday games "will then work selective Sundays for CBS, meaning the longstanding team of Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts could get bumped up to the top spot on certain Sundays." The deal reportedly is worth about $240M dollars for the year, with the NFL "holding the option to extend the package" to '15. The N.Y. Times reported that had NBC won the bid, its "SNF" team of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth "would have been part of that network's plan for Thursdays" (SI.com, 2/9).
EYE ON THE PRIZE: In Denver, Dusty Saunders writes the CBS deal "graphically illustrates the national passion for the sport and the passion of the networks to capitalize financially on this nationwide popularity." CBS, which "will lure big-time sponsors, should remain the most-watched prime-time network while benefiting financially because it won't have to produce and premiere several new fall entertainment series, some of which will fall by the wayside" (DENVER POST, 2/10). THE MMQB's Peter King wrote NFL Network's ratings will be "severely diminished by the games also being on CBS, but just as certainly the ratings will be higher than anything else NFL Net would put on at the time." Meanwhile, King wrote another 11:35pm ET Sunday night game is his "one TV-related wish" for '14. West Coast fans "deserve one game that happens in their prime time." King: "When this game aired, I couldn't believe all the folks interacting with me on Twitter, crazy about having a late-night gift from the football gods." But sources said that because "most of the Eastern time zone is in bed, the NFL has no interest" in another game that late (MMQB.SI.com, 2/9).
