With the NFL facing backlash from players regarding the continued scheduling of Thursday Night Football, the league appears to be going full-steam ahead with its plan to continue airing the weekly game.
Assuming that indeed does remain the case, Fox and ABC are reportedly joining CBS and NBC in the bidding war to air the game.
Per @business, Fox and ABC have joined CBS and NBC in bidding for Thursday Night Football. Suspect there will be an OTT partner as well. Options = Leverage.
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) January 17, 2018
As Brandt notes, this means more leverage for the NFL. It also means more money, and the likelihood that the debate regarding mid-week games will rage on for years to come. After all, the NFL, under Commissioner Roger Goodell, has proven itself to be all about its own bottom line.
We can also expect cord-cutting options to be included in the bidding here. Two seasons ago, Twitter won the rights to stream the weekly game live. Then, this past regular season, Yahoo! earned that honor by outbidding its competition. Facebook will likely be among other online sites to join the bidding there.