This is going to be an interesting season for viewers of Thursday Night Football. Not only will CBS be back to air a slate of games, but so will NBC. And Twitter is on board to stream the games that CBS and NBC will be broadcasting. NFL Network will have an exclusive set of games that CBS and NBC will be producing. And not only will NFL Network air games on Thursday nights, but it will also have a London game that CBS will produce, games on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and a Saturday night game which NBC will produce in Week 15.
It’s an interesting mix, as NFL Network will simulcast the games that CBS and NBC will broadcast, telecast eight games exclusively and have Twitter stream the 10 games on network TV.
In addition to having Twitter stream the CBS and NBC games, the five contests on NBC will be streamed on laptops, connected TV’s and tablets on the NBC Sports Live app.
Here’s NFL Network’s official announcement:
2016 THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BROADCAST SCHEDULE ANNOUNCEDNFL Network, CBS and NBC Partner to Broadcast ‘Thursday Night Football’ Twitter to Live Stream 10 ‘Thursday Night Football’ Games
NFL Network, CBS, NBC and Twitter announced the Thursday Night Football primetime broadcast schedule for the 2016 NFL season today. This season marks the first year that NBC has joined NFL Network and CBS to broadcast Thursday Night Football, as well as the first season of a new streaming partnership with Twitter.
The slate of 18 regular season Thursday Night Football games kicks off with Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills hosting the New York Jets on Thursday, September 15 on CBS (simulcast on NFL Network and streamed on Twitter) and features 13 Divisional matchups and 11 playoff teams from 2015. All 18 regular season Thursday Night Football games will be televised nationally by NFL Network, either exclusively or as a simulcast of the respective CBS or NBC broadcast.
CBS and NBC are each scheduled to broadcast five Thursday Night Football games, with NFL Network scheduled to televise eight games — including two Saturday games and two Sunday games. Both CBS and NBC will produce Thursday Night Football with their lead broadcasters and production teams, and both will contribute to the production of Thursday Night Football exclusively on NFL Network.
Twitter will stream the 10 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by CBS and NBC and simulcast by NFL Network, providing free, live streaming video without authentication to the over 800 million registered and non-registered users worldwide on the Twitter platform on mobile phones, tablets, PCs and connected TVs. In addition to streaming the games, the Twitter partnership includes in-game highlights from Thursday Night Football and unique Periscope live streams, giving fans an immersive experience.
All Thursday Night Football games kickoff at 8:25 PM ET, with the exception of the New York Giants vs. Los Angeles Rams at 9:30 AM ET on Sunday, October 23 from London (Week 7) and the Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at 4:30 PM ET on Sunday, December 25 (Week 16). Both games will be televised nationally by NFL Network.
The entire 18-game Thursday Night Football schedule will also be streamed live on the NFL Mobile app (NFL.com/mobile), the NFL app on XBOX, including interactive features from Microsoft, and through Watch NFL Network on tablets, PCs and various connected TV devices (NFL.com/watch), with participating television providers. NBC Sports Live Extra will live stream all Thursday night games that air on NBC via TV Everywhere.
The Thursday Night Football schedule on CBS, simulcast on NFL Network and streamed on Twitter includes:
Sept. 15 (Week 2): Jets at Bills Oct. 13 (Week 6): Broncos at Chargers
Sept. 22 (Week 3): Texans at Patriots Oct. 20 (Week 7): Bears at Packers
Oct. 6 (Week 5): Cardinals at 49ers
The Thursday Night Football schedule on NBC, simulcast on NFL Network and streamed on Twitter includes:
Nov. 17 (Week 11): Saints at Panthers Dec. 15 (Week 15): Rams at Seahawks
Dec. 1 (Week 13): Cowboys at Vikings Dec. 22 (Week 16): Giants at Eagles
Dec. 8 (Week 14): Raiders at Chiefs
The Thursday Night Football schedule on NFL Network includes:
Sept. 29 (Week 4): Dolphins at Bengals Nov. 10 (Week 10): Browns at Ravens
Oct. 23 (Week 7): Giants at Rams (Sun.) Dec. 17 (Week 15): Dolphins at Jets (Sat.)
Oct. 27 (Week 8): Jaguars at Titans Dec. 24 (Week 16): Bengals at Texans (Sat.)
Nov. 3 (Week 9): Falcons at Buccaneers Dec. 25 (Week 16): Ravens at Steelers (Sun.)
2016 Thursday Night Football Schedule
Week 2: Thursday, September 15 (CBS/NFL Network/Twitter)
New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills
Week 3: Thursday, September 22 (CBS/NFL Network/Twitter)
Houston Texans @ New England Patriots
Week 4: Thursday, September 29 (NFL Network)
Miami Dolphins @ Cincinnati BengalsWeek 5: Thursday, October 6 (CBS/NFL Network/Twitter)
Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ersWeek 6: Thursday, October 13 (CBS/NFL Network/Twitter)
Denver Broncos @ San Diego Chargers
Week 7: Thursday, October 20 (CBS/NFL Network/Twitter)
Chicago Bears @ Green Bay Packers
Week 7: Sunday, October 23 (NFL Network)
New York Giants @ Los Angeles Rams (London)
Week 8: Thursday, October 27 (NFL Network)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Tennessee Titans
Week 9: Thursday, November 3 (NFL Network)
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 10: Thursday, November 10 (NFL Network)
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
Week 11: Thursday, November 17 (NBC/NFL Network/Twitter)
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers
Week 13: Thursday, December 1 (NBC/NFL Network/Twitter)
Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings
Week 14: Thursday, December 8 (NBC/NFL Network/Twitter)
Oakland Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs
Week 15: Thursday, December 15 (NBC/NFL Network/Twitter)
Los Angeles Rams @ Seattle Seahawks
Week 15: Saturday, December 17 (NFL Network)
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
Week 16: Thursday, December 22 (NBC/NFL Network/Twitter)
New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles
Week 16: Saturday, December 24 (NFL Network)
Cincinnati Bengals @ Houston TexansWeek 16: Sunday, December 25 (NFL Network)
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
In addition to the five games that they’ll broadcast, CBS and NBC will each produce four games that will be aired by NFL Network exclusively. Just like last year when Jim Nantz and Phil Simms called the games not aired by CBS, Nantz and Simms will be on the Thursday night games that CBS will produce and be shown only on NFL Network. As for the London game and Christmas Eve game on NFL Network, we’ll likely see other announcing teams assigned to those games.
NBC will also air five games and produce four for NFL Network.
Here’s the CBS announcement regarding Thursday Night Football:
PRIMETIME FOOTBALL RETURNS TO CBS FOR THIRD YEAR OF THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL2016 Thursday Night Football Schedule on CBS and NFL Network Features Four Division Rivalries; Kicks Off with New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills on September 15
Thursday Night Football Will Once Again Help Launch CBS’s 2016 Fall Primetime ScheduleFor the third consecutive year CBS Sports and NFL Network will broadcast a compelling slate of Thursday Night Football games. The 2016 Thursday Night Football schedule features five regular–season games on CBS and NFL Network, kicking off with the New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills on September 15 (8:25 PM, ET). With the five early-season games, Thursday Night Football will once again help launch CBS’s Fall primetime schedule.
CBS Sports continues to be the leading NFL broadcaster televising more NFL games than any other network with Thursday Night Football and THE NFL ON CBS Sunday package.
The Thursday Night Football schedule is highlighted by marquee teams including the Super Bowl 50 Champion Denver Broncos, Division winners New England, Arizona and Houston, and a classic NFC North rivalry game between Chicago and Green Bay.
The schedule, which also includes four games produced by CBS Sports airing exclusively on NFL Network, is highlighted by marquee matchups and Division rivalries. Since CBS Sports’ partnership with NFL Network in 2014 to broadcast Thursday Night Football, ratings have increased +58%.
The 2016 Thursday Night Football schedule will feature games Weeks 2-3 and Weeks 5-7 broadcast on CBS that also will be simulcast on NFL Network and Twitter. The Thursday Night Football package also includes games on Thursdays in Weeks 4 and 8, a Sunday morning game from London in Week 7 and a primetime game on Christmas Eve in Week 16. These games will be produced by CBS and televised on NFL Network, and simulcast on over-the-air stations in the primary markets of the participating teams. All Thursday Night Football games on CBS will kick off at 8:25 PM, ET.
The Thursday Night Football schedule on CBS, also simulcast on NFL Network and Twitter, includes:
Sept. 15 (Week 2): N.Y. Jets at Buffalo Sept. 22 (Week 3): Houston at New England Oct. 6 (Week 5): Arizona at San Francisco Oct. 13 (Week 6): Denver at San Diego Oct. 20 (Week 7): Chicago at Green Bay The Thursday Night Football schedule on NFL Network produced by CBS includes:
Sept. 29 (Week 4): Miami at Cincinnati Oct. 23 (Week 7; Sun): N.Y. Giants at L.A. Rams Oct. 27 (Week 8): Jacksonville at Tennessee Dec. 24 (Week 16; Sat): Cincinnati at Houston
NBC’s half will begin in Week 9, November 3 with Atlanta at Tampa Bay which will air on NFL Network. It will also produce Cleveland at Baltimore in Week 10 on November 10 and a Saturday night game in Week 15 on December 17 with the Miami Dolphins taking on the New York Jets. And NBC will produce NFL Network’s Christmas Day game between Baltimore and Pittsburgh. That will lead into NBC’s Denver at Kansas City game that Christmas night.
And there you have the the entire Thursday Night Football schedule.
