NFL Network

The NFL Network is a cable network dedicated to covering the National Football League 365 days a year. The network has been in operations since November 4, 2003 and broadcasts eight NFL games a season. These games are televised on Thursday nights under the "Thursday Night Football" name.

Bob Papa does the play by play while former NFL linebacker and Detroit Lions General Manager Matt Millen does the color commentary and analysis for the Thursday night match ups. Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci and former NFL stars such as Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin are part of the in studio team for the channel.http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork

The network has also covered the NFL Draft since 2006, and will continue that trend in 2010 with coverage on all three days.

The 2010 NFL Schedule is due to be released on Tuesday, April 20. At that time, the entire schedule complete with prime time games and the match ups for the NFL Network's slate of games will be known.

It was announced that the NFL Network would host a two hour special starting at 7 pm ET to unveil the entire schedule.http://losangelesnewstoday.com/headlines-nfl-network-nfl-com-to-reveal-regular-season-schedule-tuesday/923092 The schedule unveiling comes late this season, just two days before the NFL draft, after revamping as Commissioner Roger Goodell looks for ways to avoid meaningless games in the final weeks of the regular season.http://chicago.comcastsportsnet.com/03/24/10/NFL-Announces-Division-Games-to-End-Seas/landing.html?blockID=203823&feedID=626

In 2006, cable company Comcast dropped the NFL Network from its digital package. The move was in response to the NFL rejecting a $400 million offer from the cable giant to broadcast eight games on the Comcast-owned Versus Network. The NFL claimed that Comcast did not have the right to demote the NFL Network. On May 19, 2009, a deal was iron-out by the two entities in which the NFL Network became part of Comcast’s Digital Classic tier.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/sports/football/19nflnetwork.html?_r=1&ref=sports

That agreement is a ten year deal where Comcast pays 45 to 50 cents per subscriber to the NFL as opposed to the 70 cents that the league was initially seeking. Commissioner Goodell hopes to use the agreement with Comcast as a way to negotiate and find common ground with other cable companies, including Charter Communications, which was originally one of the first systems to carry the channel back in 2004.http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story?id=09000d5d81065fa0&template=without-video&confirm=true