Mike Florio ,
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Last year, the NFL took advantage of the literal language of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to stage a Week 1 Friday night game, from Brazil. That loophole applies again this year.
Next year, it does not.
The SBA’s ban on televising Friday night or Saturday games doesn’t activate until the second weekend in September. Last year, and this year, the NFL’s season openers coincided with the first weekend in September.
It’s all about when Labor Day lands. If it’s on September 1, September 2, or September 3, the first Friday of the NFL season lands on the first Friday in September. (Until, of course, the NFL moves the start of the season back to Labor Day Weekend. Which feels inevitable.)
In a Tuesday conference call with reporters, Executive Vice President and COO of NFL Media Hans Schroeder said that, next year, the NFL won’t play a game on the first Friday of the regular season.
Of course, Schroeder also once said the NFL won’t play on Christmas, when December 25 lands on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. It was true when he said it. The owners later decided not to abandon Christmas to the NBA, regardless of the day of the week when Christmas happens.
By next year, the owners could decide to treat the first Friday of the regular season like Black Friday, kicking off at 3:00 p.m. ET — and ending before the SBA’s Friday Night Lights Out happens.
Don’t be surprised if they do just that. If the game streams, people can watch it wherever they are. For those who will be at work, they can watch the NFL while they TCB .
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