Thursday Night NFL bids reported to be due in tomorrow

Tom Paine

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John Ourand of Sports Business Daily reports that bids on the NFL's Thursday night package are due in tomorrow, and most of the major networks are expected to enter bids, including Comcast's NBC. Ourand says ABC is especially eager to get back in the NFL, as its the only major over-the-air network without an NFL package (although its owner Disney does have MNF on ESPN).

Ourand says the NFL would like the Thursday night package to be on a broadcast network. But Joe Flint of the LA Times thinks a cable network may be a more likely possibility, mentioning NBCSports Network, which has long been rumored to be interested in Thursday night to boost its ratings and recognition, as a candidate.

Another issue the NFL must determine is how many games to put in a Thursday night package. It does not want to leave its own NFL Network too bare.

Update: Flint wrote today (Sunday) that NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt declined to confirm that NBC had entered a bid on the Thursday night package, but said "we’d love to have more NFL games," and "Thursday night games might be really interesting to us." Greenblatt's comments came at the semiannual Television Critics Assn. press tour in Pasadena on Sunday.

Daily Links 2/3/2012: Comcast may invest in Mets, more Thursday Night Football to NFL Network

Financial Relief for Mets May Come From TV Partners (New York Times)
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NFL Network Ups Thursday Night Football Games to 13 for 2012 Season (Hollywood Reporter)
NBC Sports had been reported to have had a keen interest in adding those games for its cable network.

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FinTech 2012 (A VC)
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Daily Links 6/27/2011: Comcast may want NFL Thursday Night package

SBJ: NFL Shopping Eight-Game Thursday Night TV Package, Turner, Comcast Interested (MediaBistro)
While Comcast is definitely trying to upgrade Versus, I don't think they want to go head to head with ESPN right now, as some are writing.

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Ron Meyer's contract as Universal Studios president extended through 2015 (LA Times: Company Town)

FCC’s net neutrality rules about to be official, and invite lawsuits (Washington Post: Post Tech)

Safeguard Scientifics Leads $35 Million Financing for NovaSom (Business Wire)

Penn Students Leave School to Launch CourseKit With $1 Million Seed Round (TechCrunch)
Will be based out of New York, though.

Growing Philly software firm asks: Where are the engineers?
(Philly.com: Philly Deals)


ICG Commerce Acquires Neuwing Energy Ventures -- Unlocking the Many Sides of Green (Spend Matters)

Oracle Fusion Applications Pricing Revealed (PC World)

Why Google Health Really Failed—It’s About The Money (TechCrunch)

McKesson Buys Portico To Gain ACO Financial Tools (Information Week)

Marimow quits Philly Inquirer for ASU Cronkite School post (Poynter)

Bell and Howell Finalizes Sale to Versa Capital (Business Wire)
Versa Capital is a Philly-based turnaround specialist.



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