[Gary Toma]

Here is a chart of what the 2012 NFL Season Will Look Like:

2012 NFL Viewing With/Without NFL SundayTicket

Week Thursday Sunday Sunday SNF MNF Week Week Cross
# Games Free Ticket NBC ESPN Free Byes Check
1 1 3 9 1 2 7 16
2 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
3 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
4 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
5 1 3 7 1 1 6 3 16
6 1 3 7 1 1 6 3 16
7 1 3 7 1 1 6 3 16
8 1 3 7 1 1 6 3 16
9 1 3 8 1 1 6 2 16
10 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
11 1 3 8 1 1 6 2 16
12 3 3 8 1 1 8 16
13 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
14 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
15 1 3 10 1 1 6 16
16 3 11 1 1 5 16
17 4 11 1 5 16
Total 17 52 153 17 17 103 16 256

40% of Regular Season games ( 103 out of 256 ) available without SundayTicket

Free Games:
17 Thursday Games NFLN, CBS, FOX, NBC
52 Sunday Regional Games CBS, FOX
17 Sunday Night Games NBC
17 Monday Night Games ESPN

103 GRAND TOTAL FREE TO AIR

 

[Gary Toma]

Here is part of an NFL Press Release on February 3. The emboldening is mine:

The Thursday Night Football schedule on NFL Network will now feature 13 games, all on Thursdays, from Weeks 2-15 (skipping Week 12). In previous years, the NFLN slate included at least one Saturday night game. NBC will televise the Thursday night game on Thanksgiving in Week 12, in addition to the NFL Kickoff game.

Adding these games to the NFL Network schedule will give more players, teams, and cities the primetime stage, Commissioner Goodell said. Our fans can now get an early start on the NFL weekend in the season's first 15 weeks.

With the expansion of the Thursday Night Football schedule, all 32 NFL teams will now play at least one primetime game in 2012. In addition, every club will play on one Thursday following a Sunday game.
​

 

[sigma1914]

It should say UP TO 41% of Regular Season games ( 104 out of 256 ) available without SundayTicket. Depending on your location, you might only get 2 day games.

 

[Gary Toma]

Sorry -- I needed post #1 and post #2 to set the stage. Some interesting notes here:

• Sunday Ticket has just lost some value. The games going to the expanded Thursday schedule were effectively subtracted from Sunday Ticket. At $300 for the 2012 Season, Sunday Ticket now costs you $2.00 per game each week. On the average, about $18.00 per Sunday.
• We still don't know if there will be a Saturday game in the 2012 season. The press release mentions, but does not clarify what is forthcoming.
• Pay attention to the bold "...every club will play on one Thursday following a Sunday game." There are apparently more announcements to come. The present schedule has only 15 Thursday games, so 2 of the 32 clubs don't fit into the current Thursday schedule. And the "Thursday following a Sunday game" doesn't fit either - we need TWO more Thursday games for that to be true. (The Week #1 Thursday game doesn't qualify as "... following a Sunday game".)

Best Guess: We have some more schedule annoucements to be made. Perhaps CBS and FOX will be doing Thursday night games in week 16 and 17.

Other ideas?

 

[bixler]

It should say UP TO 41% of Regular Season games ( 104 out of 256 ) available without SundayTicket. Depending on your location, you might only get 2 day games.

Exactly...this happens to me a lot and I have two different CBS stations and two different FOX stations

 

[jcrandall]

Thursday following Sunday, 14 weeks, plus 2 day Thanksgiving games, is 16 total. That is your 32 teams, every team plays once, so nobody repeats Thursday appearances except the two teams in the "kickoff" game week 1.

 

[Gary Toma]

Thursday following Sunday, 14 weeks, plus 2 day Thanksgiving games, is 16 total. That is your 32 teams, every team plays once, so nobody repeats Thursday appearances except the two teams in the "kickoff" game week 1.

Thank you, Thank you. Duh! You have made my flat forehead feel much better. The announcement does just say "Thursday" games, not limiting itself to Thursday Night games.

Okay -- now help me with that lone Saturday night game. Is that going away? Is it going to CBS or FOX or even NBC?

 

[espnjason]

Okay -- now help me with the Monday night game. Is that going away? Is it going to CBS or FOX or even NBC?

MNF will be on ESPN through the 2021 season.

 

[Gary Toma]

MNF will be on ESPN through the 2021 season.

Sorry - my typo. I'm fishing for any information on the Saturday night game.

 

[Gary Toma]

Best I can discover through NFL Media, but these are not "official announcements":

• There will not be a Saturday Night game in the 2012 season
• There will not be any additional Thursday games beyond the 17 already announced.
• No decision has been made on the Week 16 Monday Night game which falls on Christmas Eve. That game may be moved to another day, moved earlier on 12/24 or may stay in place.

i have adjusted the chart accordingly.

 

[stewdog1]

Great news for more exposure for many teams.

However, like in years past I'm quite sure that the Sunday Ticket price will go up once again. And once again I will play the retention roulette game again come August.

 

[joed32]

Here is part of an NFL Press Release on February 3. The emboldening is mine:

The Thursday Night Football schedule on NFL Network will now feature 13 games, all on Thursdays, from Weeks 2-15 (skipping Week 12). In previous years, the NFLN slate included at least one Saturday night game. NBC will televise the Thursday night game on Thanksgiving in Week 12, in addition to the NFL Kickoff game.

Adding these games to the NFL Network schedule will give more players, teams, and cities the primetime stage, Commissioner Goodell said. Our fans can now get an early start on the NFL weekend in the season's first 15 weeks.

With the expansion of the Thursday Night Football schedule, all 32 NFL teams will now play at least one primetime game in 2012. In addition, every club will play on one Thursday following a Sunday game.
​

Someone must have misspoke because every team will have a prime time game not every team will have a Thursday game. That's the way I read the article that I saw. As you say every team on Thursday is impossible.

 

[Gary Toma]

Someone must have misspoke because every team will have a prime time game not every team will have a Thursday game. That's the way I read the article that I saw. As you say every team on Thursday is impossible.

The response in Post #6 is correct - every team WILL have a Thursday game. Remember, the two day games on Thanksgiving are Thursday games! We actually have 17 Thursday games for 2012; the two Week 1 Thursday teams will even have a second Thursday game!

 

[joed32]

The response in Post #6 is correct - every team WILL have a Thursday game. Remember, the two day games on Thanksgiving are Thursday games! We actually have 17 Thursday games for 2012; the two Week 1 Thursday teams will even have a second Thursday game!

That would work, I thought they were talking about the Thursday night package on NFLN.

 

[Gary Toma]

That would work, I thought they were talking about the Thursday night package on NFLN.

Welcome to the club -- that's where I was coming from too. But 'masterdeals' in post #6 made sense of it. I updated the chart to show there are actually 17 Thursday games!

 

[nydave]

the unfortunate thing concerning the "free" sunday afternoon games is that, at times, they are not the games nor the teams you want to watch that are televised in your area. that is where they are going to get us and what others are saying, with a higher price

 

[Boston Fan]

I think the grid in the OP lists too many Thursday night games. It shows 17 games, but it should be 15. Weeks 1 and 12 should be blank for Thursday.

 

[Gary Toma]

I think the grid in the OP lists too many Thursday night games. It shows 17 games, but it should be 15. Weeks 1 and 12 should be blank for Thursday.

Well, 17 Thursday games is indeed correct. Let's approach it another way:

13 Thursday Night games on NFLN (see their announcement)
1 Thursday Night game in Week 1 on NBC (Kick-Off Game)
1 Thursday Night game in Week 12 on NBC (Thanksgiving night)
2 Thursday Day games in Week 12 (CBS and FOX) (Thanksgiving Day)

That totals out to 17 Thursday Games - yes, two of the 17 are Thursday DAY games.

Now read the NFL announcement again. It will finally make sense!

 

[Lord Vader]

The price of ST keeps rising, but its value would appear to be falling, as you stated, gct.

I could be wrong, but I'd bet DirecTV can't be too happy that more games will be broadcast via other means. Translation: fewer games broadcast via Sunday Ticket.

 

[mws192]

The price of ST keeps rising

The 2012 full price is $60 less than it was in 2011 and it includes To-Go ($50 last year).
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/sports/nfl?footernavtype=-1