NBC Scores Patriots Game with First Flex Pick
New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills Moves to 8:15 p.m. on NBC; Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks to 4:15 p.m. on Fox
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/5/2007 9:57:00 AM
With the National Football League's blessing, NBC used its first flexible-scheduling pick to grab the Nov. 8 New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills game from the competition, in this case CBS.
The formerly 1 p.m. CBS game will now be NBC's Sunday-night contest at 8:15 as the undefeated Patriots continue their march toward what they hope will be the Super Bowl, as well as the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ record as the only undefeated team for an entire season in NFL history (ironically, the Dolphins are currently winless).
The NBC announcement came not long after CBS' powerhouse numbers were posted for the overrun of the Patriots-Indianapolis Colts game Sunday night (NBC had that same matchup the same weekend last year). As NBC pointed out, New England has played in the two most-watched games of the season -- the Colts showdown and the Oct. 14 game at the Dallas Cowboys.
As part of its deal for Sunday-night football games after being out of the pro-football game for years -- unless you count arena football -- NBC got the ability to choose which games it wanted to air in weeks 11-17 of the season, although the NFL has the ultimate say-so.
This gives the NFL a chance to provide a primetime showcase to teams making late runs and gives NBC a chance to poach some high-profile Sunday-afternoon matchups (Monday-night games are off limits) from the competition and to avoid primetime snoozers between teams already out of the running by November.
CBS and Fox can protect some games from poaching earlier in the season, and NBC has to let the NFL know 12 days before the game is scheduled to air.
NBC had been tentatively scheduled to air the Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks contest at 8:15 p.m. Nov. 18. That game now moves to Fox for a 4:15 p.m. start time.
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