Writer’s Strike End a Boon for Sports Networks, Agencies
The acquisition of superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers is turning the New York Jets into prime-time darlings.
The four-time NFL MVP makes the Jets instant Super Bowl contenders — and the league’s TV partners are scrambling to add Gang Green to their fall schedules.
The Jets could be featured in six prime-time games, according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. The 7-10 Jets played in only one nationally televised game in prime time last season, a Thursday night loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
CBS Sports should be the main beneficiary of the 39-year-old’s move from the NFC to the AFC, as it has the latter’s rights package.
Still, the NFL is likely to give at least one Jets game window to each of its TV partners, which include CBS and Fox Sports (Sunday afternoons), NBC Sports (“Sunday Night Football”), ESPN (“Monday Night Football”), and Amazon Prime Video (“Thursday Night Football”).
On Sundays, Rodgers’ Jets should be heavily featured in CBS’ and Fox’s late-afternoon game windows, which draw the highest weekly audiences. And with both NBC and ESPN able to employ “flex scheduling” this season, several Sunday afternoon Jets games could be moved to prime time to reach a national audience.
“The conversations are ongoing,” said one source.
