The NFL is now considering ending its “Thursday Night Football” broadcast by 2018, according to a report from NBC’s Pro Football Talk (PFT).
The show, which is currently split between NBC, CBS, and the NFL Network, has suffered faltering ratings, and a number of players have complained about the timing. Last year, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said that playing “TNF” games—which often feature teams that played just four days before on Sunday—is “rough the body.”
The current CBS and NBC contract for “TNF” runs until 2017, meaning that changes could be made before then. So now, the league is considering ending or significantly reducing the broadcast by 2018, Pro Football Talk reported on Sunday.
But the league issued a comment on the PFT report, saying there are no plans to eliminate it.
“We are fully committed to Thursday Night Football and any reports to the contrary are unfounded,” the NFL’s senior vice president of communications, Natalie Ravitz, told FOX Business on Monday.
The PFT report claimed that the league is considering ending “TNF” because there are not enough quality games for a prime-time broadcast.
Ex-NFL coach and longtime broadcaster John Madden agreed with that sentiment in a recent interview.
“Something has to be done about ‘Thursday Night Football.’ It just doesn’t work.” Madden said, CBS Sports reported. “It’s not only a fan thing, it’s a team thing. It’s a safety thing. It’s a competitive thing. It doesn’t work.”
