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NFL Awards Thursday Night Contract To CBS

NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL says CBS will televise eight of its Thursday night games next season

CBS won bidding for the games, an increasingly valuable property for network television. The games will be simulcast on the NFL Network and come during the first half of the season. The league's cable network will keep the second-half games for itself.

The NFL says the contract is for one year, and the league has an option to extend it for 2015. The CBS lead broadcasting team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms will be in the booth for all 16 games.

Fourteen games will air on Thursday nights. The other two will be broadcast leading up to the playoffs on Saturdays. CBS will produce all 16 games.

"NFL Network built Thursday into a night for NFL fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Our goal is to bring these games to more fans on broadcast television with unprecedented promotion and visibility for Thursday Night Football on CBS."

Copyright 2014 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. STATS LLC and The Associated Press contributed to this article. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The Associated Press is strictly prohibited.

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