CBS and NFL Network drew a combined 11.2 overnight rating for the Colts’ 33-28 “Thursday Night Football” win over the Texans, up 8% from a 10.4 overnight for Vikings-Packers last week. The 11.2 figure ties the Week 4 Giants-Redskins matchup as the second-highest “TNF” overnight of the season, trailing a 13.7 for Steelers-Ravens in Week 2. Thursday’s five-point margin of victory was by far the smallest on “TNF” in '14, compared to the 31-point average for the first four games. CBS and NFL Net are averaging an 11.0 overnight for the first five “TNF” contests (Josh Carpenter, Staff Writer).
MONEY MATTERS MOST: L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke said of Texans RB Arian Foster complaining about playing on Thursday night, "The players are wiped out, they're beat up, they're tired, it's hard for them to get up for the games. But he's right about the league making money off it." Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, "The league now has paired up with CBS, there is no chance that this is not going to keep growing more and more. ... You're getting such a bad quality of football." ESPN's Israel Gutierrez said the "problem" is the "ratings are there, the viewership is there and unless we turn the games off they're still going to play these Thursday night games." He added, "It's going to take a bunch of catastrophic type of injuries ... to make the league get rid of these Thursday night games." Columnist Kevin Blackistone said, "It's only going to get bigger but absolutely, it makes the game worse" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 10/9).
CHANGING THINGS UP: In Boston, Chad Finn notes Sunday's Patriots-Bills game will air at 1:00pm ET on Fox under a new "cross-flexing" policy in which the NFL can move a game to a different network if the league "believes the game is underdistributed by the original network." Patriots-Bills "wasn’t originally perceived as a marquee game, or even worthy of second billing on the marquee, really." CBS' Broncos-Jets "has been set for a while" as the net’s primary 1:00pm broadcast, while Steelers-Browns "will be shown in at least 31 markets." Because Patriots-Bills is "more intriguing than originally anticipated ... the league and its television partners determined it was worthy of a wider audience" (BOSTON GLOBE, 10/10).
BACK TO YOU: In Chicago, Ed Sherman notes former NFLer David Diehl "bucked the odds" after retiring this offseason and landed a "coveted gig at Fox" as a game analyst. It was the "result of a master plan that dates back to his days at Illinois, from which he has degrees in communications and human resources." While some of Diehl's Giants teammates "hid from the pesky reporters, he never met a microphone he didn't like." He viewed interviews as a "chance to enhance his public speaking skills." He "enrolled in the NFL's broadcast boot camp," and also participated in several N.Y.-based and SiriusXM Radio shows. Diehl: "I literally worked my butt off to figure out how everything works (in broadcasting). I never was a silver spoon guy." Fox Sports Exec Producer John Entz: "He will develop quickly to lead the next generation of NFL game analysts." Diehl said that he "learned more lessons about the small things in broadcasting" in his 30 minutes spent with Pro Football HOFer John Madden than he "did in the previous five years." Madden "stressed the team component of a broadcast, such as talking about statistics to highlight the graphics editor" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/10).
FOX-Y LADY: VARIETY's David Cohen wrote the NFL "could take a cue" from “Fox NFL Sunday,” where women are a "constant presence, both in traditional female roles like wardrobe and makeup -- and in more powerful functions." "Fox NFL Sunday" Dir Stephanie Medina "calls the shots for the show," and is a "perennial Sports Emmy nominee and a winner for her work" with the net's MLB coverage. Her "skill has earned her the respect of her crew and Fox Sports execs alike" (VARIETY.com, 10/7).
PREPARED FOR TAKEOFF: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes Jets coach Rex Ryan will have "another career opportunity in television" when he leaves the sidelines. The "turmoil surrounding Ryan and his team, and the way he has handled it, has actually enhanced his TV future." Raissman: "Here’s something else to consider: If Jon Gruden decides it’s finally the right time to take a head coaching job next season, there is no better candidate to replace him in ESPN’s 'Monday Night Football' booth than Ryan" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/10).
