The NFL is considering streaming the entire “Thursday Night Football” package that currently is on the market for 2016 and beyond, according to a key NFL source.
While the league could go in many directions with the package, streaming is on the table, said this source, who also confirmed recent reports that top league officials were in Silicon Valley talking to technology companies about the Thursday slate of games.
CBS Sports and NFL Network for the past two seasons have divided the 16-game slate, with CBS producing all of the games. That arrangement expires later this month.
The league tried its first domestically streamed game in October, with the Bills-Jaguars game in London. (The contest was available via broadcast TV in the Buffalo and Jacksonville markets.) The reviews of that Yahoo-led effort have largely been positive, though there is a debate over how to interpret the audience size. But the NFL does not seem fazed by that ongoing discussion and is eager to move forward with more streaming in some fashion.
■ SPEAKING FOR THE LEAGUE: Paul Hicks, the league’s former executive vice president of communications and public affairs, left the NFL in late September after a tumultuous few years overseeing the league’s PR response to the likes of the lockout, Bountygate, player-misconduct scandals and Deflategate. Since his departure, his role has been filled by Cynthia Hogan, the league’s senior vice president of public policy and government affairs, who is currently splitting her time between Washington, D.C., and New York.
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HOGAN
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Could she be a candidate for the job full-time? Hogan said no, describing herself as a Washingtonian and a policy wonk.
The league, however, may look elsewhere internally for the replacement. When the hire might occur is unclear, but Hogan said she expects to end her divided role after the season ends.
Hicks now is managing partner for the Glover Park Group, an NFL consultant. His daughter, Hope, has been in the news as the campaign spokeswoman for presidential candidate Donald Trump.
■ PLAYER CONDUCT DISCUSSED: What a difference a year makes. Last December in Dallas, the NFL, under heavy scrutiny, unveiled new player-conduct rules in the wake of the run of misconduct scandals of the previous months. This year, the issue barely surfaced, though that did not mean the owners did not hear about it.
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FRIEL
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Lisa Friel, the former New York City sex crimes prosecutor whom the league earlier this year named to oversee independent investigations of off-field misconduct, briefed the owners on the process and progress. The league declined to make Friel available to recount her presentation.
Commissioner Roger Goodell did note to reporters that player arrests year-over-year have declined 40 percent. And Joe Ellis, president of the Denver Broncos, said Friel’s group is “making a concerted effort not to interfere with the legal process. … That is not to say they are not conducting investigations.”
■ MAKING STADIUMS SECURE: Ray DiNunzio, the NFL’s director of strategic security, said the league has beefed up its security of stadium perimeters since last month’s Paris terrorist attacks, which included an attempted assault on a packed stadium. He declined to offer details when asked what new measures have been put in place, but he did say the NFL has spoken with federal and international law enforcement authorities.
That said, he added, “The existing practices we have in place are effective to counter that kind of an attack.”
■ UPON FURTHER REVIEW: In light of recent on-field mistakes by NFL referees, Goodell was asked whether the league might move to full-time officials. That’s something Goodell said the NFL Referees Association has resisted.
“You probably remember when we had our work stoppage a few years ago with the officials, that was one of the key issues, and I thought we had negotiated those rights,” Goodell said. “Since then, some things occurred with respect to the union’s position on that that prevent us from doing it on a limited basis where we thought we could do 16 to 18 officials that could work on the field on a regular, full-time basis but also be able to come into the office and help us improve the consistency of officials and improve those positions that they have expertise in and maybe even get some rotation among those full-time officials in various crews to make sure that there is consistency among the crews, which is a very important objective.
“We still believe that is a very positive step,” Goodell said. “We’re going to continue to push that issue with the union, but I don’t think that’s the answer in and of itself. I think that is a contributing factor. I think it could help.”
The current collective-bargaining agreement for referees, signed in 2012, continues through 2019, but sources said there have been tough talks ongoing between the two sides.
Jim Quirk, NFLRA executive director, did not reply for comment.
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GRUBMAN
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■ WORKING HURT: Eric Grubman had a painful meeting, and it had nothing to do with the Los Angeles relocation discussions continuing. The NFL executive vice president, who is in charge of the Los Angeles process for the league, broke his collarbone two days before the owners gathering — playing rugby in New Jersey with high school and college kids. (Grubman, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and student athlete, was joining his two sons in the competition.) His arm is in a sling, and the pain was evident on his face last week. Wishing him a speedy recovery.
