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By Joe Flint 

The National Football League on Monday dismissed speculation that it is considering reducing its commitment to Thursday Night Football in the wake of disappointing ratings this season.

In a statement, the league said, "we are fully committed to Thursday Night Football and any reports to the contrary are unfounded." The NFL was responding to a story in Pro Football Talk that suggested there were discussions to cut the package after the 2017 season, which is when current deals with CBS and NBC are set to expire.

It's unlikely the NFL would completely gut Thursday football. The league's NFL Network TV channel is obligated by contracts with its cable and satellite partners to carry at least eight games a season and most of those are on Thursday. However, that does not mean the broadcast portion couldn't be eliminated or shortened down the road.

The league has not approached either NBC or CBS to discuss the future of Thursday games, people familiar with the matter said.

The majority of the Thursday games have not been competitive and ratings have fallen, so there has been debate about whether there may be too much football on television. Teams that play on Thursday are usually doing so with less rest and preparation than if they were playing on Sunday, which has been suggested as a factor in the disappointing play. The league has even tried to heighten interest in Thursday by having the teams wear bright -- some might say garish -- uniforms.

After two years of CBS having exclusive broadcast rights to Thursday football -- except for Thanksgiving and opening night on NBC -- the NFL decided to split the package this season. CBS and NBC are each paying $225 million to carry five games apiece this season and next. That increased the annual rights fees to $450 million from $300 million per-season, people familiar with the terms said. The NFL Network also simulcasts those games, as well as carrying a handful of games exclusively. The social media company Twitter has its own one-year deal with the NFL to stream ten of the Thursday games for $10 million.

Separately, CBS pays an average annual fee of around $1 billion for its Sunday afternoon package while NBC pays $950 million for its Sunday night games.

Thursday is not the only night to take a hit this season. Monday Night Football ratings on ESPN are down as are Sunday Night games on NBC. Sunday afternoon games on Fox and CBS are still solid. NFL officials have said that the election coverage may have played a role in drawing viewers away from the games.

While there may not be any immediate changes to Thursday, the league is planning some changes for Sunday with regards to broadcasts of games that are played in London. Currently, those games air early in the morning and the ratings have been tiny. Starting next season, games played in London will air in the afternoon in the United States along with the rest of the games, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2016 17:37 ET (22:37 GMT)

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