# NFL TV game assignments

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 28, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525 "2001-08-28T14:44:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phouchg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/41988e/32.png) [@Phouchg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phouchg)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525/1 "2001-08-28T14:44:20Z")

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OK, I work for a FOX station, and even I can’t figure out how the networks and the NFL decide who gets what games (for example, on 9/9 we were assigned games that very few people in our market care about - we are a distance from any NFL city). I know there are rules about sell-outs, blackouts, singleheader in some franchise citites.

Can anybody explain the logic of the game assignments???

Phouchg  
Lovable Rogue

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**Author:** ![Montfort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Montfort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Montfort)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525/2 "2001-08-28T15:11:35Z")

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Well, where are you? And, which games are you getting? Might it be possible that you’re near a college where a star player on one of those teams played at?

Or, are one of the teams a popular one, aka, a “good team?”

There are lots of reasons why certain games are on in certain markets.

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**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525/3 "2001-08-28T15:18:17Z")

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Classic Rivalries I believe are always given higher priority. My father, who lives in New York, almost always gets the Bears/Packers games because that’s such a storied rivalry.

Thank god for Sunday Ticket is all I can say

jarbaby

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**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525/4 "2001-08-28T16:22:02Z")

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A network will show whatever game it believes will get the highest rating in your market, unless they have to show another one because of a contractual arrangement. Since you are not in an NFL market, some guy in New York is making the decision for you.

Keep in mind that each network can show two games only every other week. Usually if a network is televising just one game, it uses the earlier slot, unless there is a contractual requirement to show something else.

In Southern California, FOX still believes that people want to see the Rams and CBS believes that everyone still wants to see the Raiders.

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**Author:** ![Three\_Dog\_Night](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@Three\_Dog\_Night](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Three_Dog_Night)\
**Post date:** [August 28, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-tv-game-assignments/78525/5 "2001-08-28T17:36:42Z")

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Connecticut’s easy, and the NFL has it planned out so there are 3 games with local interest: the Giants, Jets and Patriots games. If one team’s playing in prime time, or another team for that matter, they’ll just show the best other game going on, like St. Louis-Tampa Bay or something.