NFL Network (NFLN) is an American television sports channel dedicated to American football, owned and operated by the National Football League (NFL). It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation. The league invested $100 million to fund the network's operations.
NFL Films produces commercials, television programs, and feature films for the NFL. It is a key supplier of NFL Network's programming, with more than 4,000 hours of footage available in their library. Thus, much of the network's highlights and recaps feature NFL Films' trademark style of slow motion game action, sounds of the game, and the talk on the sidelines.
Beginning with the 2006 season, the channel began to broadcast eight prime time regular season NFL games, currently running under the banner of Thursday Night Football. In addition to live games, the network has covered the NFL Draft since 2006; its coverage has competed with ESPN and ESPN2.
The NFL Network logo changed to match the new NFL logo, which premiered officially at the 2008 NFL Draft. Unlike the updated logo for the league, the NFL Network's new logo saw more subtle changes such as using a darker shade of blue and changing the "NFL" lettering to match that of the new NFL logo. The day of the 2012 NFL Draft, the network changed the logo to resemble that of their sister network NFL Red Zone, and also played down the "HD" branding of the network as of late, as effectively all cable providers currently carry the analog 4:3 version of the channel as a downscaled version of the HD feed, including letterboxing of all programming.
The NFL Network works from studios in Culver City, California, near Los Angeles, and broadcasts their worldwide feed from Encompass Digital Media (formally Crawford Communications) in Atlanta, GA.
Starting with the 2010 season, the channel started broadcasting the Arena Football League. Each Friday, the NFL Network has a Game of the Week, going through the playoffs and culminating with the ArenaBowl. Also beginning in 2010, the channel began to broadcast 14 regular season CFL games. It will also air the Grey Cup.
Read more about NFL Network: Executives, Live NFL Games, International Distribution, NFL Network HD, NFL RedZone Channel, ESPN Partnership, Carriage and Distribution Complications
Famous quotes containing the word network:
“How have I been able to live so long outside Nature without identifying myself with it? Everything lives, moves, everything corresponds; the magnetic rays, emanating either from myself or from others, cross the limitless chain of created things unimpeded; it is a transparent network that covers the world, and its slender threads communicate themselves by degrees to the planets and stars. Captive now upon earth, I commune with the chorus of the stars who share in my joys and sorrows.”
—Gérard De Nerval (1808–1855)