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NFL Network Acquires Exclusive Rights to College Senior Bowl

Apr 25, 2006  •  Post A Comment

The NFL Network said Tuesday it has acquired the exclusive rights to televise the Senior Bowl as part of a multiyear deal beginning in 2007.

The Senior Bowl, billed as a college all-star game, features players who have finished their college football careers and are prospects for joining the NFL. The NFL Network will turn the Senior Bowl into a weeklong event, including practices and a postgame show. The Senior Bowl is played annually on the Sunday between the NFL’s conference championships and the Super Bowl.

The deal comes as the NFL Network implements a strategy to beef up the number of games on its schedule. For the first time this year the network will carry live games on Thursdays and Saturdays, beginning on Thanksgiving. It will also show replays of Sunday games in midweek-the first time NFL games have been repeated. NFL Network also carries preseason games and NFL Europe games. In all, the network will televise 167 games per year.

“Acquiring regular season NFL games and now the Senior Bowl helps cement NFL Network’s place as the year-round television home for football fans,” said Steve Bornstein, NFL Network president and CEO. “We are ready to push the accelerator on this channel and the Senior Bowl is an important piece of the puzzle.”