NFL Network Adds Five Thursday Games

League also announces new Spanish-language version of its RedZone channel

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/3/2012 12:57:08 PM

The NFL Network will bump up its Thursday Night Football total to 13 games next year, which had been hinted at for the past few months.

The new Thursday slate now runs from weeks 2-15 (NBC will have the Thursday night game on Thanksfiving and the first Thursday night game kicking off the season) and will include at least one Saturday night version of TNF.

That means that all 32 teams will play at least one primetime game, the league said Friday. The NFL also announced a new Spanish-language version of its RedZone channel that provides look-ins on all the key scoring and would-be scoring plays around the league.

That also means five more NFL games moving from broadcast to cable, except in the team's home markets, where they will still be available over-the-air barring blackouts.

The Sports Fan Coalition has been calling for an end to the FCC's blackout rules and opining about the move of sports to cable.