ESPN Monday Night Football is a live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games on ESPN and ESPN+ in the United States. From 1970 to 2005 and since 2020 - albeit on a limited basis - it aired on sister broadcast network ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest-running prime time programs ever on commercial network television, and one of the highest-rated, particularly among male viewers. MNF is preceded on air by Monday Night Countdown.
NFL Primetime is a sports television program that has aired on ESPN since 1987. The show is presented similarly to ESPN's own SportsCenter, featuring scores, highlights, and analysis of every game of the week in the NFL.
The NFL Today is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the NFL on CBS brand. The program features commentary on the latest news around the NFL from its hosts and studio analysts, as well as predictions for the day's games and interviews with players and coaches. Originally debuting as Pro Football Kickoff on September 17, 1961, the program airs before all NFL games broadcast by CBS, and generally runs for one hour. The program's commentators also provide commentary during game updates, the halftime reports, and the postgame show on the NFL on CBS broadcasts.
The television rights to broadcast National Football League (NFL) games are the most lucrative and expensive rights of any American sport. Television brought professional football into prominence in the modern era after World War II. Since then, National Football League broadcasts have become among the most-watched programs on American television, and the financial fortunes of entire networks have rested on owning NFL broadcasting rights. This has raised questions about the impartiality of the networks' coverage of games and whether they can criticize the NFL without fear of losing the rights and their income.
Football Night in America (FNIA), branded for sponsorship purposes as Football Night in America delivered by Applebee's, is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason National Football League (NFL) games. The program debuted on September 10, 2006, when the network inaugurated its Sunday prime time game package. The 80-minute program airs live at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and is broadcast from Studio 1 at NBC Sports Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Prior to 2012, Football Night in America originally broadcast from the GE Building in New York City, first out of Studio 8G from 2006 to 2012 and in 2013, from Studio 8H, where Saturday Night Live is also taped.
Gregory Thomas Waddle is a former American football player in the National Football League (NFL). Waddle is currently a co-host of "Waddle and Silvy" on ESPN 1000, and a football analyst for WLS-TV in Chicago. He also appears on Pro Football Weekly and NFL Network. He spent his entire six-year career with the Chicago Bears. He attended Boston College.
ESPN Monday Night Countdown is an American pregame television program that is broadcast on ESPN, preceding Monday Night Football. When it debuted in 1993 as NFL Prime Monday, and Monday Night Football was airing on ABC, the pregame show was one of the first cross-pollinations between ESPN and ABC Sports, which each largely operated under separate management at the time. The show was renamed Monday Night Countdown in 1998, and Monday Night Football moved from ABC to ESPN in 2006. The current sponsor is presented by Subway, starting with the 2020 season. Previous sponsors of the show include UPS, Applebee's, Call of Duty, and Courtyard by Marriott
NFL Matchup is a National Football League (NFL) preview show that airs every week during the regular season and playoffs. At various times, the official name was based on the current sponsor in the format [Sponsor Name] NFL Matchup. Since 2017 it is known simply as the ESPN NFL Matchup, and it is produced utilizing commentary and footage from NFL Films.
NFL Replay is a program that airs on the official television channel of the National Football League, NFL Network.
Thursday Night Football is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League (NFL) games that broadcast primarily on Thursday nights. Most of the games kick off at 8:20 Eastern Time, but games in the package also air occasionally on Saturdays in the later portion of the season, as well as a single Sunday morning game from London in the NFL International Series.
NFL on ABC is a live television broadcast of National Football League games on the American Broadcasting Company.
The following is a detailed list of results and scores from National Football League games aired on Thursday Night Football. Starting with the 2006 NFL season, NFL Network was awarded the rights to air Thursday night games. Previously, games played on Thursdays were broadcast on TNT and ESPN. In 2014, CBS Sports shared rights with NFL Network for the package, with NBC Sports joining CBS and NFL Network in 2016. In 2018, Fox Sports began to share rights with the NFL Network. Starting in 2022, Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, with the NFL Network airing select late season Saturday games.
Christmas Day and Christmas Eve games in the National Football League (NFL) are an occasional part of the league's schedule. In contrast to Thanksgiving Day games, however, they are not an annual occurrence; as of 2021, there have been 24 Christmas Day games in the NFL's history.
NFL RedZone is an American sports television channel owned and operated by NFL Network since 2009. As a "special" game-day exclusive, it broadcasts on Sundays during the NFL regular season from 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, or when the last afternoon window game ends. RedZone provides "whip around" simulcast coverage of all Sunday afternoon games airing in-progress on CBS and Fox.
The history of the National Football League on television documents the long history of the National Football League on television. The NFL, along with boxing and professional wrestling, was a pioneer of sports broadcasting during a time when baseball and college football were more popular than professional football. Due to the NFL understanding television at an earlier time, they were able to surpass Major League Baseball in the 1960s as the most popular sport in the United States. Today, NFL broadcasting contracts are among the most valuable in the world.
During the early 1960s, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time that could be viewed by a greater television audience. An early bid by the league in 1964 to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated, with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school football games. Undaunted, Rozelle decided to experiment with the concept of playing on Monday night, scheduling the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for a game on September 28, 1964. While the game was not televised, it drew a sellout crowd of 59,203 spectators to Tiger Stadium, the largest crowd ever to watch a professional football game in Detroit up to that point.
Recently, the NFL's TV broadcasters have suffered annual financial losses because advertising revenue is unable to keep up with the rising costs of broadcast rights.
Big Noon Kickoff is a college football studio show broadcast by Fox, and simulcast on sister network Fox Sports 1 (FS1). Premiering on August 31, 2019, it serves as the pre-game show for Fox College Football, and in particular, Big Noon Saturday—the network's new weekly 12:00 p.m ET/9:00 a.m PT kickoff window.
When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, all major professional and collegiate organizations responded by suspending operations indefinitely. This effect was passed down to the world of sports broadcasting, which includes live coverage of thousands of events on an annual basis through stations and network available over the air, through cable, satellite, and IPTV companies, and via streaming and over-the-top services.
