Report: ABC could be home for NFL's 'Thursday Night Football'

A.J. Perez | USA TODAY

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ABC could potentially be home to prime time NFL football again, according to a published report Monday.

Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, is exploring bidding on the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package that has been shared between NBC and CBS the last two seasons, The Sports Business Daily reported. The games would be carried on ABC with ESPN talent and branding.

ESPN declined to comment on the report when reached by USA TODAY Sports on Monday.

Monday Night Football debuted on ABC in 1970, revolutionized prime-time sports broadcasts and helped make the NFL a dominant (and expensive) TV juggernaut. ABC hasn't broadcast prime-time regular season games since 2005 as the MNF package moved to ESPN.

The TNF rights are up for bid after the expiration of the $900 million, two-year deal with NBC and CBS. Thursday night games also are simulcast on NFL Network.

On top of the broadcast rights, the streaming rights for the Thursday games were held by Amazon in 2017. Amazon paid $50 million as part of the one-year deal agreed to last April.

Follow Perez on Twitter @byajperez

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