Ray Rice Scandal Squarely In Spotlight As "Thursday Night Football" Kicks Off On CBS

The NFL tonight kicks off its new "Thursday Night Football" schedule on CBS with Steelers-Ravens, but the Ray Rice domestic violence scandal "will dominate the coverage" around the game, according to Ed Sherman of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. It is "highly likely both the NFL and CBS would have preferred the Ravens were playing in a regionally televised Sunday game this week." But the team and surrounding controversy "will be squarely in the national spotlight." CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said, "We're obviously going to address it. ... Basically, we say to [commentators], 'We're going to give you enough time to express your opinion.'" Sherman notes in an ironic twist, the new Thursday night package "is one of the reasons why the owners are so loyal to Commissioner Roger Goodell," as he "continues to find new ways to make them money" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/11). In Salt Lake City, Scott Pierce wrote CBS could "hardly have gotten more lucky than it did with its Week 1 draw." The Ravens are "very much in the news this week," which will "only boost ratings, like it or not." The NFL has "telecast Thursday-night games for eight years, but moving them to CBS makes this a whole new ballgame," as the NFL is "using CBS to build the franchise and bring viewers to the NFL Network." But CBS is "quite content to be used, what with getting what are sure to be eight high-rated, prime-time football games." It is a "win for the NFL" and a "win for CBS" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 9/10). CBS Sports' Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, who call tonight's game, appeared live from M&T Stadium on "CBS This Morning" today, and Nantz said, "We're going to be loaded up with equipment that almost reaches the amount of equipment we've had at Super Bowls." He added, "It's a little different for us because we have a lot more options with technology to go to during our commentary because there are that many more cameras and replay machines and angles that we don't have every single week" ("CBS This Morning," 9/11).

UNFORTUNATE COINCIDENCE? In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy writes it is an "unfortunate coincidence" that the NFL's first game this week "is in the stadium that Rice called home for the last six seasons." CBS broadcasting the game is a "critical component any time you are trying to get the truth out of the paranoid/protective NFL," as the net and league are "practically one and the same." They "take care of one another." CBS will "never do anything to expose or damage the precious shield of the NFL," and Goodell chose “CBS Evening News” for his "only broadcast to date." When Patriots Owner Robert Kraft "went public to defend Goodell’s 'excellent' response," Kraft appeared on "CBS This Morning.” Kraft also is "on the board of Viacom," which owned CBS until '06. CBS President & CEO Les Moonves has "spent almost as much time at Gillette Stadium" as former Patriots broadcaster Gil Santos has. And "don’t forget that the hub of Patriot Place is CBS Scene, which is the backdrop" for WBZ-CBS' "embarrassing Patriots infomercials every week" (BOSTON GLOBE, 9/11). SI’s Richard Deitsch tweeted, “CBS kissing Robert Kraft's butt: A Tradition Like No Other” (TWITTER.com, 9/11).

WILL IT HIT THE MARK? NFL Network has had a package of live regular-season games since '06, with telecasts primarily on Thursday nights. Last season was the net's best average audience yet with 7.06 million viewers. NFL Net also has seen five straight seasons of record game viewership, with the last two seasons being part of an expanded 13-game schedule. The net from '06-11 had an eight-game lineup (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).