NFL Network
NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL RedZone. Dedicated to American football, the network features game telecasts from the NFL, as well as NFL-related content including analysis programs, specials and documentaries. The network is headquartered in the NFL Los Angeles building located next to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and broadcasts its worldwide feed from Encompass Digital Media (formally Crawford Communications) in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] The network has secondary East Coast facilities in the NFL Films building in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
Country
United States
- United States
- Canada
- Latin America
- Caribbean
- Puerto Rico
- Europe
- Philippines
Inglewood, California, U.S.
English
1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
November 4, 2003
As of February 2015, NFL Network was available to approximately 71.9 million television households in the United States (totaling 61.7% of U.S. households with at least one television set).[2] As of June 2023, the channel was available in 51.5 million homes as cord cutting continues to affect the industry.[3]
History[edit]
NFL Network was launched on 4 November 2003, only eight months after the owners of the league's 32 teams voted unanimously to approve its formation. Originally located in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City, California, the league invested $100 million to fund the network's operations. NFL Films, which produces commercials, television programs, and feature films for the NFL, is a key supplier of NFL Network's programming, with more than 4,000 hours of footage available in its library. As a result, much of the network's highlights and recaps feature NFL Films' trademark style of slow-motion game action, sounds of the game, and sideline conversations between players and/or team staff. Both the network's site and app, were launched in 2004 (on NFL.com) and 2009, respectively.
Beginning with the 2006 season, the network began to broadcast eight regular-season NFL games during Thursday prime time, branded as Thursday Night Football. In addition to live games, the network has provided coverage of the NFL draft since 2006; its coverage competes with that provided by ESPN and ESPN2. It was simulcast in a co-production with Fox Sports for the 2018 edition, though this was only a one-year agreement as exclusive over-the-air broadcast rights moved to ABC for the 2019 edition, which saw ESPN produce a different broadcast for 'casual' fans. In 2020, the network simulcast ESPN's coverage of that year's draft which was produced remotely from the basement of commissioner Roger Goodell’s home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On September 8, 2021, the network moved with the rest of NFL Media to a 200,000 square foot space on the campus of Hollywood Park, a development that also features SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. In addition to office and studio space, the facility also features NFL Media's first outdoor studio and space to host studio audiences.[4][5]
Branding[edit]
At the 2008 NFL draft, NFL Network unveiled a revised logo that was updated to match the revised NFL logo introduced around the same time. Unlike the updated logo for the league, the NFL Network's logo included subtle changes such as using a darker shade of blue and changing the "NFL" lettering to match that of the new league logo. During the 2012 NFL draft, the network debuted an overhauled logo resembling that used by sister network NFL Red Zone; the network also began to play down the "HD" branding used on-air, as the vast majority of cable providers currently carrying NFL Network transmit the channel's standard definition feed as a downscaled letterboxed version of the high definition feed. The logo, as with those of all NFL properties, was tinted gold during the 2015 NFL season in commemoration of Super Bowl 50.
The network unveiled an updated ticker at the start of the 2017 season, replacing the one used since the 2012 rebranding. It would be changed again for the start of the 2023 season.
High definition[edit]
NFL Network HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast feed of NFL Network that launched in August 2004. It is available nationally on satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network, and regionally on Verizon FiOS, AT&T U-verse and most Comcast and Cogeco Cable systems.
In mid-October 2008, in-studio programs began to air in "enhanced HD", featuring contained additional scores and statistics on a dedicated wing on the right side of the screen that was only visible on the HD feed. Content that is presented in 4:3 standard definition is shown with stylized pillarboxes, or for some footage, blurred pillarbox wings. On May 1, 2009, NFL Total Access began airing in full HD without pillarboxing or enhanced graphics; this was followed by the upgrade of NFL GameDay to HD the following September.
Most providers began to exclusively carry the HD feed of the network during 2011, transmitting a downscaled and letterboxed version of the HD feed to provide the channel in 4:3 standard definition for analog viewers without any deviation, including the "NFL HD" logo. The standard definition feed was discontinued entirely in July 2012, concurrent with the introduction of the network's current logo.
International distribution[edit]
Canada[edit]
NFL Network was approved for distribution on Canadian television providers by the CRTC in 2004;[37] Live Thursday Night Football games are blacked out on the feed distributed in Canada to protect local rightsholders TSN and CTV 2.
NFL Network is also offered as part of DAZN's NFL Game Pass service as of 2017.[38]
United Kingdom[edit]
It was reported that the network would be made available in the United Kingdom in 2008.[39] However, this did not come to pass although significant elements of NFL Network programming is now seen in the UK on Sky Sports. Almost every edition of Good Morning Football and NFL Total Access are broadcast by Sky Sports NFL, which Sky has operated throughout the NFL season since 2020, and NFL Red Zone airs in the UK in its entirety on Sky Sports Mix.
Brazil[edit]
NFL Network is available on NFL GamePass Free Tier. NFL RedZone is available on the Pro Tier.
