NFL Unveils Kickoff, Thanksgiving Schedules

March 24, 2009: Are you ready for some football? The NFL has unveiled its 2009 "Kickoff Weekend" TV schedule and a Thanksgiving Day national TV tripleheader. Continuing a strategy that began in 2004, the defending Super Bowl XLIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Tennessee Titans on Thursday, Sept. 10, on NBC. The Sunday night, Sept. 13 prime time game on NBC will feature the Chicago Bears visiting the Green Bay Packers. On Monday, Sept. 14, the league will showcase an “AFL 50th” doubleheader on ESPN to celebrate the 50th anniversary season of the American Football League. The four clubs competing that night began play in the inaugural 1960 AFL season: the Buffalo Bills at the New England Patriots, followed by the Oakland Raiders hosting San Diego Chargers. In November, the early Thanksgiving Day game on Fox has Green Bay visiting the Detroit Lions. The second game on CBS sends the Raiders, in the team's first Thanksgiving game since 1970, to the Dallas Cowboys. The Thanksgiving primetime game will be on NFL Network with the New York Giants visiting the Denver Broncos. The NFL also unveiled an agreement to extend DirecTV’s rights to carry the "NFL Sunday Ticket" package of Sunday afternoon games through the 2014 season. The agreement also significantly broadens the reach of NFL Sunday Ticket by enabling NFL fans that cannot receive DirecTV satellite service to get NFL Sunday Ticket via broadband no later than 2012, and a new “Red Zone Channel” that shows crucial live action cut-ins of all Sunday afternoon games, available to cable, telco and satellite systems, wireless devices and the Internet, also no later than 2012. Back to Home Page