CBS, NBC To Split Thursday Night Football

CBS and NBC have agreed to split Thursday National Football League games with the NFL’s own network in a two-year deal that underscores how much broadcasters value the ratings boost they get from America’s most popular sport.

According to BloombergBusiness, the networks are each paying about $225 million a season for five games apiece, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The NFL plans to award rights to stream the games online soon, the league said in a statement. The CBS and NBC games will be simulcast on the NFL Network, which will also carry some matchups exclusively.

CBS has broadcast eight Thursday games in each of the past two seasons, paying about $300 million last year, according to various reports at the time. Bloomberg News was first to report that the parties had reached an agreement to split the games next year.

The pact expands NFL broadcasts -- the highest-rated in U.S. sports -- on NBC, which already airs Sunday night games. The Comcast Corp. unit is striving for the ratings crown this season, trailing CBS Corp.’s flagship network in total households but leading with the prime demographic of adults 18 to 49.

Since 2006, the NFL has used Thursday nights as an experiment of sorts, using the games to help introduce its NFL Network and allowing CBS last season to stream the broadcasts online.