Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
“Thursday Night Football” could have extra compelling video games on its schedule subsequent season. NFL house owners will probably be requested throughout subsequent week’s league conferences to approve a flex plan for Thursday evening video games that go into impact for the 2023 season, in line with the Sports Business Journal.
The fundamental function of passing the flex plan could be to get rid of Thursday evening video games between shedding groups. If the plan passes, the NFL could be permitted to shift Sunday afternoon video games to Thursday evening from weeks 14-17 with 15 days discover. The league would even be permitted to schedule groups for Thursday evening video games after a earlier Sunday sport on two events. Currently, a crew can solely play one sport on Thursday evening after taking part in a Sunday evening sport.
While there may be optimism that the proposal will move, there are causes to consider that it may very well be voted down by the house owners. NFL coaches, for one, should not followers of schedule adjustments, particularly in the course of the season. Safety additionally turns into a priority as groups may very well be requested to play extra video games on quick weeks.
Amazon’s first season with “Thursday Night Football” drew a median viewership of 9.6 million, in line with Neilsen. While that may be a strong quantity, it was a 46 % decline from the earlier season when Thursday evening video games had been broadcast on Fox and NFL Network. Games that didn’t have vital playoff implications could have contributed to the decline in viewership.
There’s additionally the problem of followers who buy tickets effectively upfront of their sport. The chance of extra video games being flexed could trigger extra hesitation from followers who’re contemplating buying tickets forward of the sport they plan on attending.
For a proposal to move, it should obtain 75 % of the vote, which means that 24 of the NFL’s 32 house owners should vote in favor of the proposal. Given the NFL’s dedication to producing income, the protected wager is that the house owners will move the proposal, even when it goes towards the needs of coaches, gamers and followers.
