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NFL agrees to 3-way telecast of Patriots
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Three days before the NFL Network was scheduled to show New England's attempt to become the first team to go unbeaten in the regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the league announced it has reached an agreement with CBS and NBC for a three-way national simulcast of the NFL Network telecast of the Patriots-Giants game at 7 p.m.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a news release that "we have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," adding, "our commitment to the NFL Network is stronger than ever."
The move comes as legislators, including Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), turned up the pressure on the NFL to make Saturday's game available on broadcast television. The decision is a victory for cable companies that have balked at the NFL's desire for carriage on a basic digital package and want to place it on sports tier.
The NFL Network is currently available in 43 million homes and does not have deals with operators such as Time Warner, Charter Communications and Mediacom. The latter two serve significant portions of Minnesota. Comcast, which serves much of the Twin Cities, is currently embroiled in a legal feud with the NFL Network, but does carry the channel on a digital sports tier that costs an additional $5.99 a month.
This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first NFL simulcast since Super Bowl I in 1967.
JUDD ZULGAD
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| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| Sep 13 - at Cleveland | 12:00 PM | 1 | 0 | 34-20 |
| Sep 20 - at Detroit | 12:00 PM | 2 | 0 | 27-13 |
| Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco | 12:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 27-24 |
| Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 PM | 4 | 0 | 30-23 |
| Oct 11 - at St. Louis | 12:00 PM | 5 | 0 | 38-10 |
| Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore | 12:00 PM | 6 | 0 | 33-31 |
| Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh | 12:00 PM | 6 | 1 | 17-27 |
| Nov 1 - at Green Bay | 3:15 PM | 7 | 1 | 38-26 |
| Open | ||||
| Nov 15 - vs. Detroit | 12:00 PM | 8 | 1 | 27-10 |
| Nov 22 - vs. Seattle | 12:00 PM | 9 | 1 | 35-9 |
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | |||
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | |||
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | |||
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM |
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