the video games series see nfl gameday video game series . nfl network current logo introduced april 26 2012 . launched november 4 2003 owned by national football league picture format 1080i hdtv hd feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for sdtv sets slogan together we make football country united states language english broadcast area united states canada mexico headquarters culver city california website nflnetwork.com availability satellite directv u.s. 212 hd sd sky m xico mexico 1556 hd 556 sd shaw direct canada 420 bell tv canada 448 dish network u.s. 154 cable time warner cable 310 cablevision us 219 cablevision m xico 956 hd 512 sd verizon fios u.s. 588 hd 88 sd nfl redzone 835 hd 335 sd iptv sky angel u.s. 322 at & t u verse u.s. 1630 hd 630 sd google fiber u.s. 30 hd sd bell fibe tv canada 448 telus optik tv canada 684 hd 132 sd vmedia canada 78 hd sling tv u.s. no assigned channel number playstation vue u.s. no assigned channel number nfl network occasionally abbreviated on air as nfln is an american sports oriented cable and satellite television network that is owned by the national football league nfl and is part of nfl media which also includes nfl.com nfl films nfl mobile nfl now and nfl redzone . dedicated to american football the network features game telecasts from the nfl as well as nfl related content including analysis programs specials and documentaries . the network is headquartered in the los angeles suburb of culver city california and broadcasts its worldwide feed from encompass digital media formally crawford communications in atlanta georgia . 1 as of february 2015 nfl network is available to approximately 71 867 000 households that subscribe to a cable satellite and telco television service in the united states totaling 61.7 % of u.s. households with at least one television set . 2 contents 1 background 2 programming 2.1 nfl game telecasts 2.2 preseason coverage 2.3 other football 2.3.1 arena football league 2.3.2 college football 2.3.3 high school football 2.3.4 canadian football league 3 high definition 4 nfl redzone channel 5 international distribution 5.1 canada 5.2 mexico 5.3 united kingdom 5.4 philippines 6 espn partnership 7 carriage and distribution complications 7.1 comcast 7.1.1 comcast trial 7.2 time warner cable 7.3 cogeco 7.4 insight communications 7.5 dish network 7.6 charter communications 7.7 playstation vue 7.7.1 background 7.7.2 2006 free preview 7.7.3 2007 packers vs. cowboys controversy 7.7.4 2007 patriots vs. giants controversy 7.8 suddenlink and nfl network reach carriage agreement 8 see also 9 notes and references 10 external links background edit nfl network was launched on november 4 2003 only eight months after the owners of the league s 32 teams voted unanimously to approve its formation . the league invested 100 million to fund the network s operations . nfl films which produces commercials television programs and feature films for the nfl is a key supplier of nfl network s programming with more than 4 000 hours of footage available in its library . as a result much of the network s highlights and recaps feature nfl films trademark style of slow motion game action sounds of the game and sideline conversations between players and or team staff . beginning with the 2006 season the network began to broadcast eight regular season nfl games during thursday prime time branded as thursday night football . in addition to live games the network has provided coverage of the nfl draft since 2006 ; its coverage competes with that provided by espn and espn2 . at the 2008 nfl draft nfl network unveiled a revised logo that was updated to match the revised nfl logo introduced around the same time . unlike the updated logo for the league the nfl network s logo included subtle changes such as using a darker shade of blue and changing the nfl lettering to match that of the new league logo . during the 2012 nfl draft the network debuted an overhauled logo resembling that used by sister network nfl red zone ; the network also began to play down the hd branding used on air as the vast majority of cable providers currently carrying nfl network transmit the channel s standard definition feed as a downscaled letterboxed version of the high definition feed . the logo underwent another minor change during the 2015 nfl season when as part of the league s year long celebration of super bowl 50 the logo took a gold hue in line with the league celebrating the game s golden anniversary . programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by nfl network nfl game telecasts edit main article thursday night football prior to the 2012 season the nfl network aired live primetime games on thursdays beginning in mid november . starting with the 2012 season the network began televising one live thursday night game each week from weeks 2 through 15 excluding thanksgiving day as well as one live saturday night game during week 16 . as a result of the addition of these extra games every nfl team now appears in at least one game on either nfl network s thursday night football a thanksgiving day game or in the season opening kickoff game each season the season opener falls on the thursday prior to week 1 and is televised on nbc while the thanksgiving day tripleheader games air on cbs fox and nbc . as with the games broadcast by espn s monday night football the nfl network telecasts are also aired on a designated broadcast television station in the primary markets of the participating teams although stations in the home team s market only carry it if the televised game sells out all remaining available tickets 72 hours prior to the game s start time . when thursday night football premiered veteran television announcer bryant gumbel served as play by play announcer with former fox and current nbc analyst cris collinsworth serving as color commentator for the broadcasts . 3 collinsworth won the sports emmy for best game analyst for his work on the nfl network telecasts . dick vermeil replaced collinsworth for two games in 2006 ; marshall faulk and deion sanders replaced collinsworth when needed in 2007 . in august 2007 the network televised the pro football hall of fame game between the pittsburgh steelers and the new orleans saints as nbc opted to cover that year s preseason game in china which was later canceled . the 2007 schedule began on november 22 thanksgiving night with a game between the indianapolis colts and the atlanta falcons at the georgia dome in atlanta . gumbel and collinsworth returned as the booth announcers . bob papa also the radio voice of the new york giants on local sports talk station wfan announced the games starting in 2008 . former detroit lions general manager matt millen was named collinsworth s replacement at the same time . former washington redskins quarterback joe theismann joined papa and millen in the booth for the 2010 11 season . in may 2011 nfl network announced that brad nessler and mike mayock would serve as the announcers for that season s game broadcasts . on february 5 2014 in a partnership with cbs sports cbs announced that it would air thursday night nfl games in simulcast with nfl network during weeks 2 through 8 and a saturday doubleheader game during week 16 of the 2014 regular season . the remainder of the games will air on nfl network and will be simulcast on broadcast television stations in the primary markets of the participating teams . nfl network hosts will still handle duties for pre game halftime and post game coverage ; however jim nantz and phil simms who host cbs s nfl coverage will handle commentary for the games and all of the games in the package will be produced by cbs sports . the first game simulcast on cbs and nfl network aired on september 11 2014 with a thursday primetime game between the pittsburgh steelers and the baltimore ravens . 4 5 the nfl network televised games are also broadcast on sky sports in the united kingdom and usually by sportsnet in canada with an audio simulcast presented on syndicated radio service westwood one in the united states and canada . preseason coverage edit nfl network televises all 65 preseason games each august . some of the games air live on the network however a majority of these contests air on a tape delayed basis and use the local broadcast of one of the teams involved although selected preseason broadcasts are produced by nfl network itself as part of thursday night football . other football edit arena football league edit nfl network held the broadcast rights to the revived arena football league from 2010 to 2012 . starting with the 2010 season the network broadcast a weekly friday night football game each week during the regular season and playoff games at 8 00 p.m. eastern time from march to august in addition to rights to playoff games and the arenabowl . the nfl stated that unlike when the nfl last showed interest in arena football there would be no attempts to buy into the league . 6 broadcasters for the games included kurt warner tom waddle paul burmeister fran charles charles davis and ari wolfe . starting with the 2010 season the network obtained the broadcast rights to the arena football league . each friday the nfl network aired a game of the week from the afl through the league s playoffs and culminating with the arenabowl . also beginning in 2010 the channel began to broadcast 14 regular season games as well as the grey cup from the canadian football league . nfl network ceased airing arena football league games partway through the 2012 season as a result of ongoing labor problems within the league . the season s remaining games were carried on a tape delay before the network terminated the league broadcast contract outright at the end of the season ; the rights were then obtained by cbs sports network . college football edit on december 29 2006 nfl network televised the 2006 insight bowl between minnesota and texas tech from tempe arizona . 7 the game featured the biggest comeback in ncaa division i a bowl history with texas tech coming back from a 38 7 third quarter deficit to win 44 41 in overtime . the network later made the game available for free to stream on its website . 8 the network also broadcast the texas bowl in houston on december 28 2006 whose promotion rights are owned in part by the nfl s houston texans in which rutgers defeated kansas state 37 10 . 9 the network also showed a college all star game after the college football season the under armour senior bowl which was held in mobile alabama on january 27 2007 . 10 nfl network was also expected to show the las vegas all american classic in henderson nevada on january 15 but the game was canceled due to lack of sponsorship . on april 14 2007 the network televised the nebraska cornhuskers spring football game . the network again aired the insight texas and senior bowls in late 2007 and early 2008 . in addition it carried two games between historically black colleges and universities during the 2007 season including the circle city classic at the rca dome in indianapolis indiana . with the exception of the senior bowl which remains on the network because of the league s extensive ties to the game nfl network no longer airs college football telecasts . high school football edit nfl network aired two high school all star games in june 2007 the bayou bowl between players from texas and louisiana on june 9 via a live feed from regional sports network fsn southwest and the big 33 football