Patriots game to make U.S. broadcasting history
New England’s quest at a historic 16-0 mark will be broadcast Saturday night on American networks CBS, NBC and the NFL Network, the league announced on Wednesday.
The road game for the Patriots against the New York Giants, was originally scheduled to be shown only on the NFL Network, which is available in fewer than 40 per cent of homes with televisions in the United States.
The league announced Wednesday that the NFL Network feed will be simulcast on NBC and CBS.
It’s a major concession by league officials, who repeatedly said they would not show the game anywhere but the NFL Network. The NFL had faced mounting pressure from lawmakers in recent weeks to make the game available to more viewers.
The game will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of any kind of an NFL game since the first Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC both televised the first meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League.
Local TV affiliates in the Boston, Manchester, N.H., and New York areas who were already set to simulcast the game under NFL policy will still air it.
The NFL has feuded with major cable companies, which have declined to carry the NFL Network as part of basic packages.
“We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans,” league commissioner Roger Goodell said. “What we have seen for the past year is a very strong consumer demand for NFL Network. We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game. Our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever.”
No team has gone unbeaten since the league moved to a 16-game schedule. The 1972 Miami Dolphins went 14-0 and then won all three post-season games.
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