View Full Version : When and why does NBC show NFL football and NHL hockey on Thanksgiving?


Hawkee
10-18-2023, 04:07 AM
Every Thanksgiving I noticed that NBC shows a lot of NFL football games and NHL hockey games during the night and afternoon and I have never figured it out? Is it because football and hockey games are big during Thanksgiving or is it because they are they turning these games into main events during Thanksgiving like the NFL does with Super Bowl every year? Because during every Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade they always have an NFL football player talk about that day's football game Thanksgiving afternoon. And when there's an NHL hockey game they always have a hockey themed float in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to honor the next day's hockey game. And so it tells me that NBC is trying to be king of NFL and NHL. And what will be next for sports on Thanksgiving baseball games or horse racing perhaps?

TJ
11-24-2023, 02:41 PM
NBC no longer has the rights to air the NHL. The NHL has never played on Thanksgiving as far as I know. They do play on the day before Thanksgiving and today on Black Friday. I guess they don't want to compete with the NFL, which is the king in ratings.

It's been a tradition for the NFL to play games on Thanksgiving since 1920. They added a third game starting in 2006. It's all about ratings and making money.

You can watch some videos about the history of the NFL on Thanksgiving here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiNoyKuX-mViUUyuQ7bMHcgprHE4Iat3B

It's too cold to play baseball. Maybe we will see some pickleball or cornhole on Thanksgiving one of these years.

The NFL added a Black Friday game on Amazon Prime for the first time year. It's too bad the Dolphins and Jets game couldn't be flexed out and changed. It's probably not going to be a close game. Jets fans like opus might be turning off the stream (or changing the channel as Al Michaels would say) at halftime.

opus
11-24-2023, 06:19 PM
The NHL could easily play Thanksgiving if they wanted to. Just put together some of the Canadian teams. It’s just a regular day there.

College basketball has also heavily seeped into Thanksgiving. Lots of games yesterday. Just one college football nowadays, lately it’s been the Egg Bowl.

Jets fans like opus might be turning off the stream (or changing the channel as Al Michaels would say) at halftime.

Yeah, pretty much. (Local markets still get it over broadcast TV so didn’t have to bother with the streaming thing)