NFL on CBS The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network ' s coverage of the National Football League ' s American Football Conference games , produced by CBS Sports . Market coverage and television policies . As with Fox ' s coverage , the network ' s stations are divided into different groups based on the most popular or closest team to that market or , if that does not apply , based on the allure of a particular game . Each football game is rated as an " A " , " B " , or " C " game , with " A " games likely being televised nationally and " C " games only in the two teams ' home television markets . Significantly more behind - the - scenes resources are dedicated to " A " game coverage . By NFL broadcasting rules , CBS must broadcast all regional games in the visiting team ' s home market ( and , if sold out , the city the game is being played in ) , in its entirety , regardless if the game has a close outcome or is a blowout . However , if the game is a blowout , it is allowed to cut to a game with a more competitive outcome in a market that is within the 75 - mile blackout radius without it being the home market itself . If a local game is blacked out , the local CBS affiliate is not allowed to show any other football game during the scheduled time of the home team ' s game . As an example , if the New England Patriots are losing to the Buffalo Bills by over 20 points in the fourth quarter , most of the CBS stations carrying that game can be switched to another game ; however , WBZ - TV Boston and WIVB Buffalo must carry the New England / Buffalo game to conclusion as they are in the two markets whose local teams are playing . CBS carries all afternoon games in which an AFC team is on the road , so NFC teams will make only a maximum of two appearances on CBS each year . Similarly , Fox covers all games in which the visitors are from the NFC , meaning AFC teams get only up to two Fox - aired games each year . This policy goes back to the 1970 NFL / AFL merger , when home games were not broadcast , and the policy allowed every Sunday afternoon road game to be seen on the same TV station in the visiting team ' s home market . For the past few decades , the NFL has always let CBS be the " singleheader " network during the week it televises the Men ' s U . S . Open Tennis final at 4 : 05 p . m . ET around the country ( CBS has said that it cannot justify putting the Men ' s U . S . Open Final on Sunday night in terms of ratings ; the women ' s final , broadcast on a Saturday night , often outrates the men ' s final by a considerable margin , except when at least one American plays in the men ' s final ) . History . CBS ' coverage began in on September 30 , 1956 ( the first regular season broadcast was a game between visiting Washington Redskins against the Pittsburgh Steelers ) , before the 1970 AFL - NFL Merger . Prior to 1968 , CBS had an assigned crew for each NFL team . Thus , CBS became the first network to broadcast some NFL regular season games to selected television markets across the nation . From 1970 until the end of the 1993 season , when Fox won CBS ' contract , CBS aired the NFL ' s National Football Conference games . Since 1975 , game coverage has been preceded by pre - game show " The NFL Today " . 1950s . CBS ' s first attempts to broadcast the NFL on television were notable for there being no broadcasting contract with the league as a whole . Instead , CBS had to strike deals with individual teams to broadcast games into the teams ' own markets , many of which were inherited from the defunct DuMont Television Network . Often the games would be broadcast with " split audio " - - that is , a game between two clubs would have the same picture in both team ' s " networks " ( the visiting team ' s home city and affiliates of the home team ' s " network " beyond a 75 - mile radius of the home team ' s TV market ) . Each team ' s " network " has different announcers ( usually hometown announcers ) . From 1956 - 1959 , the Baltimore Colts , Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles only had away games telecasts on CBS . When these three played at home , there was no need for the usage of split audio . Instead , the away teams telecasts were produced in a simple audio / video single feed . In fact , in 1959 , 1960 , and 1961 , NBC had the rights to show home games of the Colts and Steelers . While games were blacked - out ( as per NFL policy ) in those cities , they were available to other NBC affiliates . The Chicago Bears and Chicago Cardinals only did home telecasts for their vast network . So if the Bears played the Colts in Baltimore or the Cardinals visited Forbes Field to play the Steelers in these years , it was likely that the games were not televised by CBS ( but from 1959 to 1961 , might be shown by NBC ) . Meanwhile , the Cleveland Browns had their own network , part of SNI and Carling Beer . 1960s . In 1961 , Milwaukee station WISN - TV , a then - CBS affiliate , opted not to carry that year ' s annual telecast of " The Wizard of Oz " , running a Green Bay Packers football game instead . In contrast to the infamous " Heidi " telecast in 1968 , the popularity of " The Wizard of Oz " as an annual TV event at that time was such that the station ran the movie locally at a later date . On September 17 , 1961 , CBS Sports broadcast the first remote 15 - minute pre - game show , the first of its kind on network sports television . " Pro Football Kickoff " originated from NFL stadiums around the country with a comprehensive look at all the day ' s games . In 1962 , the NFL followed the American Football League ' s ( AFL ) suit with its own revenue sharing plan after CBS agreed to telecast all regular season games for an annual fee of $ 4 . 65 million . CBS also acquired the rights to the championship games for 1964 and 1965 for $ 1 . 8 million per game , on April 17 , 1964 . On November 24 , just two days after the assassination of President John F . Kennedy , the NFL played its normal schedule of games . Commissioner Pete Rozelle said about playing the games : " It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy . Football was Mr . Kennedy ' s game . He thrived on competition . " No NFL games were telecast , since on the afternoon of the 22nd , just after the president had been pronounced dead , CBS President Frank Stanton ordered that all regular programming be pre - empted until after Mr . Kennedy was buried . Normal programming , including the NFL , was replaced by non - stop news coverage , broadcast without commercials . In 1964 , CBS experimented with a " half - and - half " format for their announcers . The first half of each telecast would be called by the home teams ' commentators while the second half would be done by the visitors ' commentators . ( This practice would later be revived decades later by the NFL Network when replaying preseason games that were broadcast by local stations as opposed to a national network . ) Also in 1964 , CBS ditched the concept of using pooled video and split audio feeds . In 1962 and 1963 , CBS would provide separate audio for a telecast . For instance , if the Green Bay Packers hosted the Chicago Bears , the telecast would have the same video , Chicago area viewers would hear Red Grange and George Connor call the action . Meanwhile , viewers in Milwaukee and other parts of Wisconsin ( Green Bay itself was blacked out ) would hear Ray Scott and Tony Canadeo describe the game . Ray Scott was no fan of the separate audio concept and temporarily left CBS for a job calling a regional slate of college football games for NBC . Ultimately , CBS dumped the four man crew and resumed the 1962 - 63 method for the great majority of games in 1965 , 1966 and 1967 . On November 25 , 1965 ( Thanksgiving Day ) , CBS featured the first - ever color broadcast of an NFL game . Only a select few NFL games for CBS were in color that year , namely , the aforementioned Thanksgiving Day game at Detroit , the NFL Western Conference Playoff , the NFL Championship Game , the Playoff Bowl and the Pro Bowl . By 1968 , all network regular season telecasts were in color . On December 29 , 1965 , CBS acquired the rights to the NFL regular season games in 1966 and 1967 , with an option for 1968 , for $ 18 . 8 ( in sharp contrast to the $ 14 . 1 million per year in 1964 ) million per year . On February 14 , 1966 , the rights to the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship Games ( the Ice Bowl ) were sold to CBS for $ 2 million per game . 1967 also marked the last year that CBS had separate commentator crews for each team for about 90 % - 95 % of their NFL games . The first ever AFL - NFL World Championship Game was played on January 15 , 1967 . Because CBS held the rights to nationally televise NFL games and NBC had the rights to broadcast AFL games , it was decided by the newly - merged league to have both of them cover that first game . Ray Scott , Jack Whitaker , Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall called the game for CBS . 39 . 9 million viewers would watch Bart Starr ' s MVP performance . NBC did have some problems . The network did not return in time from a halftime commercial break for the start of the second half ; therefore , the first kickoff was stopped by the game ' s officials and was redone once NBC was back on the air . NBC was also forced to broadcast the game over CBS ' feed and cameras ( CBS received prerogative to use its feed and camera angles since the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was home to the NFL ' s Rams ) . In other words , NBC ' s crew had little to no control over how the game was shot . The next three AFL - NFL World Championship Games , later renamed the Super Bowl , were then divided by the two networks : CBS televised Super Bowls II and IV while NBC covered III . As previously mentioned , in 1968 , CBS abandoned its practice of using dedicated announcing crews for particular teams and instituted a semi - merit system in its place , with certain crews ( such as Ray Scott and Paul Christman or Jack Buck and Pat Summerall ) being assigned to each week ' s most prominent games regardless of the participating teams . On December 22 , 1968 , CBS interrupted coverage of a Western Conference championship game between the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Colts in order to show a broadcast from inside the Apollo 8 spacecraft , headed towards the moon ( the first manned space mission to orbit the moon , and a major step towards the lunar landing the following July ) . The interruption began approximately three minutes before halftime of the game , and lasted 17 minutes . CBS showed highlights of the missed action ( which involved no scoring ) when the network returned to football ; nonetheless , the network received approximately 3 , 000 complaints after the game . Monday night games on CBS . During the early 1960s , NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time for a greater TV audience . An early bid by ABC in 1964 to have the league play a weekly game on Friday nights was abandoned , with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school games . Undaunted , Rozelle decided to experiment with the concept of playing on Monday night , scheduling the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for a game on September 28 , 1964 . While the game was not televised , it drew a sellout crowd of 59 , 203 to Tiger Stadium , the largest crowd ever to watch a professional football game in Detroit up to that point . Two years later , Rozelle would build on this success as the NFL began a four - year experiment of playing on Monday night , scheduling one game in prime time on CBS during the 1966 and 1967 seasons , and two contests during each of the next two years . NBC followed suit in 1968 and 1969 with games involving AFL teams . During subsequent negotiations on a television contract that would begin in 1970 , Rozelle concentrated on signing a weekly Monday night deal with one of the three major networks . After sensing reluctance from both NBC and CBS in disturbing their regular programming schedules , Rozelle spoke with ABC . Despite the network ' s status as the lowest - rated network , ABC was also reluctant to enter the risky venture . Only after the independent Hughes Sports Network , an entity bankrolled by reclusive businessman Howard Hughes showed interest , did ABC sign a contract for the scheduled games . Speculation was that had Rozelle signed with Hughes , many ABC affiliates would have pre - empted the network ' s Monday lineup in favor of the games , severely damaging potential ratings . There was even talk that one or two ABC owned and operated stations would have ditched the network to carry the games . 1970s . When the AFL and the NFL officially merged in 1970 , the combined league divided its teams into the American Football Conference ( AFC ) and the National Football Conference ( NFC ) . It was then decided ( officially announced on January 26 , 1970 ) that CBS would televise all NFC teams ( including playoff games ) while NBC all AFC teams . For interconference games , CBS would broadcast them if the visiting team was from the NFC and NBC would carry them when the visitors were from the AFC . This was in line with the NFL television blackout rules of the time , meaning that every televised game of a local NFL team would be on the same channel ( at the time , home games were banned from local TV regardless of sell - out status , while road games are required to be aired in the teams ' primary media markets , and select neighboring markets as well , even if it is not the most popular team in the market ) . The two networks also divided up the Super Bowl on a yearly rotation . By 1971 , the FCC introduced the Prime Time Access Rule , which freed local network affiliates in the top 50 markets ( in practice , the entire network ) to take a half hour of prime time from the networks on Mondays through Saturdays and one full hour on Sundays . Because nearly all affiliates found production costs for the FCC ' s intended goal of increased public affairs programming very high and the ratings ( thus advertising revenues ) low , making it mostly unprofitable , the FCC created an exception for network - authored news and public affairs . After a six - month hiatus in late 1971 , CBS thus found a prime place for " 60 Minutes " in a portion of that displaced time , 6 – 7 p . m . ( Eastern time ; 5 – 6 Central ) on Sundays , in January 1972 . This proved somewhat less than satisfactory , however , because in order to accommodate CBS ' telecasts of late afternoon National Football League games , " 60 Minutes " went on hiatus during the fall from 1972 to 1975 ( and the summer of 1972 ) . This took place because football telecasts were protected contractually from interruptions in the wake of the infamous " Heidi Game " incident ( as previously mentioned ) on NBC in November 1968 . The program sometimes does not start until after 7 p . m . , due largely to CBS ' live broadcast of NFL games . At the conclusion of the game , the network will end its coverage right away and air " 60 Minutes " in its entirety ( however , on the West Coast , because the actual end of the live games is much earlier in the afternoon in comparison to the Eastern and Central time zones , " 60 Minutes " is always able to start at its normal start time of 7 p . m . Pacific Time , leaving affiliates free to broadcast local news , the " CBS Evening News " , and other local or syndicated programming leading up to " 60 Minutes " ) . The program ' s success has also led CBS Sports to schedule events leading into " 60 Minutes " and the rest of the network ' s primetime lineup , thus ( again , except on the West Coast ) pre - empting the Sunday editions of the " CBS Evening News " and affiliates ' local newscasts . On January 16 , 1972 , the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24 – 3 in Super Bowl VI in New Orleans . The CBS telecast was viewed in an estimated 27 , 450 , 000 homes , the top - rated one - day telecast ever at the time . Although Tulane Stadium was sold out for the game , unconditional blackout rules in the NFL prohibited the live telecast from being shown in the New Orleans area . This would be the last Super Bowl to be blacked out in the TV market in which the game was played . The following year , the NFL allowed Super Bowl VII to be televised live in the host city ( Los Angeles ) when all tickets were sold . In 1973 , the NFL changed its blackout policy to allow games to be broadcast in the home team ' s market if sold out 72 hours in advance ( all Super Bowls since the second have sold out , as it is the main event on the NFL schedule , and there is high demand for Super Bowl tickets ) . On November 4 , 1973 , local San Francisco CBS affiliate KPIX - TV experimented with a " simulcast " in which the station kept switching back and forth between the network ' s broadcasts of a San Francisco 49ers game ( against the Detroit Lions ) and an Oakland Raiders game ( against the New York Giants ) that were being played at the same time , with frequent cuts to studio host Barry Tompkins . The station received many complaints from viewers , however , and the experiment was not repeated . This resulted in the NFL instituting new rules for markets that had two teams , which are covered in detail in the NFL on television article . During the October 13 , 1974 , New Orleans Saints – Denver Broncos game , the broadcasting duo of play - by - play announcer Don Criqui and color commentator Irv Cross was supplemented by the contributions of the first woman ever on an NFL telecast , Jane Chastain . While providing limited commentary , Chastain was used on an irregular basis over the rest of the season . CBS ' 1976 telecast of Super Bowl X between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys was viewed by an estimated 80 million people , the largest television audience in history at the time . CBS ' telecast featured play - by - play announcer Pat Summerall ( calling his first Super Bowl in that role ) and color commentator Tom Brookshier . Towards the end of the game , Hank Stram took over for Brookshier , who had left the booth to head down to the locker room area to conduct the postgame interviews with the winning team . On October 12 , 1976 , Commissioner Pete Rozelle negotiated contracts with the three television networks to televise all NFL regular - season and postseason games , plus selected preseason games , for four years beginning with the 1978 season . ABC was awarded yearly rights to 16 Monday night games , four prime time games , the AFC - NFC Pro Bowl , and the Hall of Fame Games . CBS received the rights to all NFC regular season and postseason games ( except those in the ABC package ) and to Super Bowls XIV and XVI . NBC received the rights to all AFC regular season and postseason games ( except those in the ABC package ) and to Super Bowls XIII and XV . Industry sources considered it the largest single television package ever negotiated . On January 15 , 1978 , the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in front of the largest audience ever to watch a sporting event . CBS scored a 47 . 2 / 67 national household rating / share , the highest - rated Super Bowl to date . " The NFL Today " debuts . In 1975 , " The NFL Today " debuted with journalist Brent Musburger and former NFL player Irv Cross , and with former Miss America Phyllis George as one of the reporters . Jimmy Snyder , nicknamed " The Greek " , joined in 1976 . Snyder was dismissed by CBS Sports at the end of the 1987 season , one day after making comments about racial differences among NFL players on Martin Luther King , Jr . Day in 1988 . Phyllis George was replaced by Miss Ohio USA 1970 Jayne Kennedy from the 1978 to the 1979 NFL season . George would return in 1980 and stay on through the 1983 season . She was replaced by Charlsie Cantey . 1979 was the first year the Sports Emmy Awards were awarded to sportscasts , among them was " The NFL Today " . 1980s . In 1980 , CBS , with a record bid of $ 12 million , won the national radio rights to 26 NFL regular season games , including " Monday Night Football " , and all 10 postseason games for the 1980 – 1983 seasons . Television ratings in 1980 were the second - best in NFL history , trailing only the combined ratings of the 1976 season . All three networks posted gains , and NBC ' s 15 . 0 rating was its best ever . CBS and ABC had their best ratings since 1977 , with 15 . 3 and 20 . 8 ratings , respectively . CBS Radio reported a record audience of 7 million for Monday night and special games . In 1981 , ABC and CBS set all - time rating highs . ABC finished with a 21 . 7 rating and CBS with a 17 . 5 rating . NBC was down slightly to 13 . 9 . On October 18 , 1981 , Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos was postponed due to snow . The cancellation of Game 5 of the 1981 NLCS , which was supposed to be televised on NBC that Sunday afternoon , allowed CBS to achieve record breaking , regular season ratings for television viewership of pro football . It was rated as the most watched afternoon of regular season pro football on a single network in television history . Going into the 1981 NFL season , CBS Sports executives decided that John Madden was going to be their star NFL color commentator . But they had trouble figuring out who was going to be his play - by - play partner . So in September ( for the first four games of the season ) , they paired Vin Scully with Madden while Pat Summerall was busy covering the U . S . Open tournament for CBS . For the next four games of the season in October , they paired Summerall with Madden while Scully called Major League Baseball ' s National League Championship Series and World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers Radio Network and CBS Radio respectively . After the eighth week of the NFL season , CBS Sports executives decided that the laconic , baritone - voiced Summerall ' s style was more in tuned with the lively , verbose Madden than the elegant , poetic Scully . As a consolation prize , CBS Sports gave Scully the " B " team assignment and the right to call the NFC Championship Game on CBS Television with Hank Stram . Meanwhile , Pat Summerall called that game on CBS Radio with Jack Buck while John Madden prepared to do the Super Bowl with Summerall in Pontiac , Michigan . Vin Scully reportedly was not happy about the demotion as well as ( in his eyes ) having his intelligence be insulted ( at least , according to CBS Sports producer Terry O ' Neil in the book " The Game Behind the Game " ) . As a result , Scully bolted to NBC ( where he started a memorable seven year run as their lead Major League Baseball announcer ) as soon as his contract with CBS was up . On January 24 , 1982 , CBS Sports broadcast the highest rated ( 49 . 1 / 73 ) Super Bowl of all time as the San Francisco 49ers , led by quarterback Joe Montana , defeated the Cincinnati Bengals , 26 - 21 . Summerall and Madden called their first Super Bowl together as they went on to be one of the most popular NFL announce teams ever . During the Super Bowl XVI telecast , the telestrator made its major network debut . CBS introduced it as the " CBS Chalkboard " during their sports coverage . Madden utilized the device effectively to diagram football plays on the viewers ' television screens . The telestrator is generally credited with popularizing the use of telestration during sports commentary . In 1982 , the NFL signed a five year contract with the three television networks ( ABC , CBS , and NBC ) to televise all NFL regular season and postseason games starting with the 1982 season . During the 1982 season , the NFL allowed CBS to rebroadcast Super Bowl XVI during the first Sunday of strike . CBS also rebroadcast their most recent Super Bowl ( XXI ) telecast for the 1987 strike . Also during the 1982 strike , CBS ' NCAA football contract required the network to show four Division III games . CBS initially intended to show those games on Saturday afternoons , with only the interested markets receiving the broadcasts . However , with no NFL games to show on Sunday October 3 , 1982 due to the strike , CBS decided to show all of its NCAA Division III games on a single Sunday afternoon in front of a mass audience . CBS also used their regular NFL crews ( Pat Summerall and John Madden at Wittenberg – Baldwin - Wallace , Tom Brookshier and Wayne Walker at West Georgia – Millsaps , Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris at Wisconsin – Oshkosh – Wisconsin – Stout , and Dick Stockton and Roger Staubach at San Diego – Occidental ) and showed " The NFL Today " instead of using their regular college football broadcasters . In May 1985 , shortly after calling after working the 17th hole at the Masters , play - by - play announcer Frank Glieber died of a heart attack . Tom Brookshier , who previously served as Summerall ' s color commentator prior to Madden , replaced Glieber in the " NFL on CBS " broadcast booth . For the 1985 season , the NFL showed a ratings increase on all three networks for the season , gaining 4 percent on NBC , 10 on CBS , and 16 on ABC . CBS ' broadcast of Super Bowl XXI ( at the end of the 1986 season ) was the first NFL game to be broadcast in Dolby Surround sound and in stereo . The postgame show was supposed to feature the song " One Shining Moment " but due to postgame interviews taking so long , CBS never aired it . They ultimately changed the lyrics from " The ball is kicked " to " The ball is tipped " , and the song is now played at the end of the network ' s NCAA Men ' s Division I Basketball Championship coverage . CBS also debuted the theme music that would later be used for their college football coverage during this game , as well as its open that was used through 1990 . At the NFL ' s annual meeting in Maui , Hawaii on March 15 , 1987 , Commissioner Pete Rozelle and Broadcast Committee Chairman Art Modell announced new three year TV contracts with ABC , CBS , and NBC for the 1987 – 1989 seasons . Beginning in 1987 , CBS started broadcasting NFL games in stereo . On December 8 , 1987 , Cathy Barreto became the first woman to direct an NFL game at the network television level . ( Minnesota Vikings vs . Detroit Lions ) On April 18 , 1989 , the NFL and CBS Radio jointly announced agreement extending CBS ' radio rights to an annual 40 game package through the 1994 season . On Thanksgiving 1989 , John Madden awarded the first " Turkey Leg Award , " for the game ' s most valuable player . Reggie White of the Philadelphia Eagles was the first recipient . The gesture was seen mostly as a humorous gimmick relating to Madden ' s famous multi - legged turkeys served on Thanksgiving . Since then , however , the award has gained subtle notoriety , and currently , each year an MVP has been chosen for both the CBS and Fox games . When CBS returned to the NFL in 1998 , they introduced their own award , the " All - Iron Award . " 1990s . On March 12 , 1990 , at the NFL ' s annual meeting in Orlando , Florida , new four year TV agreements were ratified for the 1990 - 1993 seasons . The networks involved were ABC , CBS , NBC , ESPN , and TNT . The contracts totaled $ 3 . 6 billion , the largest in TV history . On September 9 , 1990 , " The NFL Today " kicked off with an all - new talent lineup consisting of Greg Gumbel , Terry Bradshaw , Pat O ' Brien and Lesley Visser . Gumbel and Bradshaw replaced Brent Musburger , who was fired by CBS on April Fools Day 1990 , and Irv Cross , who was demoted to the position of game analyst . During the 1990 season , Pat Summerall was hospitalized after vomiting on a plane during a flight after a Bears – Redskins game , and was out for a considerable amount of time . While Verne Lundquist replaced Summerall on games with Madden , Jack Buck ( who was at CBS during the time as the network ' s lead Major League Baseball announcer ) was added as a regular NFL broadcaster to fill - in . At Super Bowl XXVI ( January 26 , 1992 ) , Lesley Visser of CBS became the first female sportscaster to preside over the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony . The network ' s telecast of Super Bowl XXVI was seen by more than 123 million people nationally , second only to the 127 million who viewed Super Bowl XX . The 1990 television contract ( which was in effect ) gave CBS Super Bowl XXVI instead of Super Bowl XXVII , which was in their rotation . The NFL swapped the CBS and NBC years in an effort to give CBS enough lead - in programming for the upcoming 1992 Winter Olympics two weeks later . For this game CBS debuted a new network - wide red , white , and blue graphics package as well as a new theme song ( composed by Frankie Vinci ) for its NFL coverage . The graphics package lasted until the end of 1995 , after which CBS discarded it in favor of an orange and yellow color scheme for its sports package . The new music lasted until CBS lost the NFL at the end of the 1993 season , but continued to be used by CBS Radio until 2002 . Several remixed versions of the 1993 theme were used upon the return of the NFL to CBS until the end of the 2002 season , when CBS replaced its entire NFL package with one composed by E . S . Posthumus . In September 1993 , " The NFL Today " celebrated its 19th season as a 30 - minute pre - game show . It held the distinction of being the highest - rated program in its time slot for 18 years , longer than any other program on television . CBS loses the NFL to Fox ( 1994 – 1997 ) . CBS did not broadcast any NFL games during the seasons from 1994 to 1997 , but won AFC rights , taking over from NBC , in the 1998 season . On December 18 , 1993 , CBS ( which had been home to NFL games for 38 years ) lost their rights to the then fledging Fox Network . Fox offered a then - record $ 1 . 58 billion to the NFL over four years for the rights , significantly more than the $ 290 million per year CBS was willing to pay . The Fox Broadcasting Company was only seven years old and had no sports division , but it began building its own coverage by hiring many former CBS personalities such as Pat Summerall , John Madden , James Brown , Terry Bradshaw , Dick Stockton , and Matt Millen . Fox ' s NFL rights ownership made the network a major player in American television by giving it many new viewers ( and affiliates ) and a platform to advertise its other shows . In the meantime , CBS lost several affiliates , and ratings for its other programming languished . The replacement programming on Sunday afternoons in the fall of 1994 and 1995 involved mostly a package of encore made - for - TV movies , which were targeted towards women in an attempt to offer counterprogramming to NBC and Fox . However they made very little headway ( with some affiliates forgoing the movie package altogether ) and by 1996 , CBS picked up more NASCAR Winston Cup , Busch Series and Craftsman Truck races in order to compete in some form . CBS apparently underestimated the value of its rights with respect to its advertising revenues and to its promotional opportunities for other network programming . The vast resources of Fox founder Rupert Murdoch allowed that network to grow quickly , primarily to the detriment of CBS . Also , CBS Sports suffered from the fact that in light of their money - bleeding , $ 1 billion deal with Major League Baseball ( 1990 – 1993 ) , it suddenly entered a cost cutting mode . In spring 1994 , Fox ' s parent News Corporation struck an alliance with New World Communications , by now a key ownership group with several VHF CBS affiliates in NFC markets , and wary of a CBS without football . Nearly all of New World ' s stations converted " en masse " to Fox beginning that fall . To this day , CBS admits that they have never recovered from the loss of affiliates , having never recovered from damage in Atlanta , Detroit , and Milwaukee , where they were dropped to lower - powered affiliates unable to be received in some markets . ( Because of satellite television , the " NFL Sunday Ticket " in local markets , and rules of the time , satellite subscribers were required to use antennas to pick up local affiliates . ) CBS later purchased the newer CBS affiliate in Detroit , WWJ - TV . CBS televised its last game as the rights holder of the National Football Conference ( formerly NFL ) package on January 23 , 1994 when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the , 38 – 21 . The NFL returns . In November 1996 , Sean McManus was named President of CBS Sports . McManus would then lead CBS ' efforts in reacquiring broadcast rights to the NFL . On January 12 , 1998 , CBS agreed to air American Football Conference games ( taking over for NBC as previously mentioned ) , paying $ 4 billion over eight years ( $ 500 million per season ) . After acquiring the new package , CBS Sports then named former " NFL Today " host Greg Gumbel , as their lead play - by - play announcer ( Gumbel had moved to NBC Sports , working there from 1994 to 1998 after CBS lost the NFL to Fox ) . Phil Simms ( who at the time , was at NBC as part of the lead announcing team alongside Dick Enberg and Paul Maguire ) was hired as the lead color commentator . On September 6 , 1998 , after 1 , 687 days since the last broadcast of " The NFL Today " , host Jim Nantz welcomed back viewers to CBS for its coverage of the National Football League . Given the challenge of making its coverage of the American Football Conference different from that of NBC , CBS passed over longtime NBC veterans Charlie Jones and Bob Trumpy in favor of newcomers such as Ian Eagle and Steve Tasker . According to CBS Sports executive producer Terry Ewert , " " We wanted to forge our own way and go in a different direction . We wanted to make decisions on a new way of looking at things . " " In one stark difference from NBC , CBS used a constant score and clock for its NFL games , a la the " FoxBox " . CBS ' contribution was dubbed the " EyeBox " . On November 8 , 1998 , the first NFL game to be broadcast in HDTV was televised on CBS . That game took place at Giants Stadium between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills . It was also the first time two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks started against each other in the NFL ( Vinny Testaverde for the Jets and Doug Flutie for the Bills ) . 2000s . On January 28 , 2001 , CBS Sports , Core Digital , and Princeton Video Image introduced state - of - the - art , three dimensional replay technology called " EyeVision " for its coverage of Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa . In CBS Sports ' first Super Bowl broadcast since 1992 , it drew 131 . 2 million viewers for the Baltimore Ravens win over the New York Giants . Super Bowl XXXV was thus the most watched television program of the year . Play - by - play announcer Greg Gumbel became the first African - American announcer to call a major sports championship . He was joined in the broadcast booth with color commentator Phil Simms . The NFL playoffs , 2001 - 02 marked the first time that the league scheduled prime time playoff games for the first two rounds in an attempt to attract more television viewers . Saturday wild card and divisional playoff games were moved from 12 : 30 p . m . and 4 : 00 p . m . North American Eastern Standard Time ( EST ) to 4 : 30 p . m . and 8 : 00 p . m . , respectively . Thus , the league abandoned its practice of scheduling colder , northern playoff games for daylight hours only ; any stadium , regardless of evening January temperatures , could host prime time playoff games . In 2004 , Jim Nantz and Greg Gumbel swapped roles . Nantz took Gumbel ' s place as the lead play - by - play announcer while Gumbel took Nantz ' s spot as the host of " The NFL Today " . The next group of broadcast contracts , which began with the 2006 - 2007 season , resulted in a sizeable increase in total rights fees . Both Fox and CBS have renewed their Sunday afternoon broadcast packages through 2011 , in both cases with modest increases . On February 6 , 2006 , CBS Sports announced the hiring of James Brown , who moved from studio host of " Fox NFL Sunday " to the host of " The NFL Today " . Greg Gumbel moved back to play - by - play , teaming with Dan Dierdorf . CBS decided to not use sideline reports for the 2006 regular season . However , the network did use Lesley Visser , Sam Ryan , Solomon Wilcots and Steve Tasker to report from the sidelines and around the stadium for its telecast of Super Bowl XLI . In 2006 , CBS ' coverage of the earned a 28 . 1 rating , which topped the debut of " American Idol " on Fox . Its Super Bowl XLI broadcast drew the third largest television audience in history , finishing behind only its broadcast of the " M * A * S * H " finale in 1983 and NBC ' s broadcast of Super Bowl XXX ( Dallas and Pittsburgh ) from 1996 . Super Bowl XLI was second most watched Super Bowl of all - time , averaging 93 . 1 million viewers . For the 2007 season , CBS announced the advent of CBS Eye - lert , a program that allows viewers to be notified via e - mail and text message when the start time of a program will be delayed . The Sunday afternoon , October 14 , 2007 game between the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys on CBS , was viewed by 29 . 1 million people , making it the most - watched NFL Sunday game since the Dallas Cowboys – San Francisco 49ers game on November 10 , 1996 on Fox ( 29 . 7 million viewers ) , according to Nielsen Media Research data . The game was also the most watched show on television for the week of October 8 – 14 , drawing 9 million viewers more than CBS ’ drama " " ( 19 . 8 million viewers ) , and the most watched program of the season . The November 4 , 2007 broadcast of a game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts drew a 20 . 1 rating and 33 . 8 million viewers for CBS . HDTV coverage . As late as 2006 , CBS aired only three of its NFL games in high - definition each week , the same number of games it had aired for the past few seasons . The other networks with rights to broadcast NFL games , NBC , NFL Network and ESPN , broadcast all of their games in high definition , and Fox broadcasts up to six in HD . Because of this , some fans accused CBS of being " cheap . " Beginning with the 2007 season , CBS began airing 5 of Sunday ' s games in high definition television on doubleheader weeks , and six on singleheader weeks . Former CBS Sports Executive Vice President Tony Petitti ( who left CBS in April 2008 to become the head of the MLB Network ) claimed the network would probably air all of its NFL games in high definition by 2009 . When asked about the move , Petitti commented that CBS was focused on building a new studio for " The NFL Today " pre - game show . However , another CBS executive had previously indicated that , because CBS was an " early adopter " with its first HD game in 1998 , it is already " at capacity " and would have to replace newly - bought equipment in its network center with even more expensive equipment . 2010s . With an average US audience of 106 . 5 million viewers , Super Bowl XLIV on CBS was the most - watched Super Bowl ever as well as the most - watched program of any kind in American television history , beating the 27 - year - long record previously held by the final episode of " M * A * S * H " , " Goodbye , Farewell and Amen " , watched by 105 . 97 million viewers . The game drew an overnight national Nielsen rating of 46 . 4 with a 68 share , the highest for a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XX in 1986 . The telecast drew a 56 . 3 rating in New Orleans and a 54 . 2 rating in Indianapolis , first and fourth respectively among local markets . On November 28 , 2010 , CBS broadcast its 5000th NFL game . The game in question involved the Miami Dolphins visiting the Oakland Raiders and had Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker on the call . Local preseason television coverage . Since the NFL returned to the network in 1998 , a number of local CBS stations have been televising preseason football games , mostly including the network ' s graphics and production that viewers would normally see during regular season national / regional broadcasts . A number of NFL teams and their broadcasting departments have teamed up with CBS Sports to produce games , and those teams include ( as of 2011 ) the San Diego Chargers ( originating stations KCBS - TV Los Angeles and KFMB - TV San Diego ) , New York Jets ( WCBS - TV New York ) , and Green Bay Packers ( former CBS O & O WFRV - TV Green Bay and co - flagship WTMJ - TV Milwaukee , an NBC affiliate ) . However , there are some that used a few , but not all , elements of the " NFL on CBS " production presentations , and they are mostly in - house productions between the teams and their individual flagship station . Those include the Pittsburgh Steelers ( KDKA - TV ) , Miami Dolphins ( WFOR - TV ) , San Francisco 49ers ( KPIX and KOVR in Sacramento ) , Dallas Cowboys ( KTVT ) , Cincinnati Bengals ( WKRC - TV ) , Kansas City Chiefs ( KCTV ) , New England Patriots ( WBZ - TV ) , Atlanta Falcons ( WGCL - TV ) and the Jacksonville Jaguars ( WTEV ) . CBS O & O WWJ - TV in Detroit was in the Detroit Lions ' flagship station from 2008 – 2010 and used most of their graphics and music . WCBS , KCBS , KDKA , WFOR , KTVT , KPIX , KOVR , and WBZ are all owned by CBS Corporation . Digital on - screen graphics . Since its relaunch in 1998 , CBS ' coverage of games has featured a scoring bug similar to the one first used by Fox in 1994 . 1998 – 2000 . From 1998 to 2000 , the scoring bug had a half - capsule shape where the score was displayed in white text on a blue background ( that contained the CBS eye ) , below the quarter and time in black text on a white background . The down and distance would pop out from the bottom of the bug in a white box when necessary . It would spin around to show the timeouts left . 2001 . Starting in Super Bowl XXXV , the bug took on a more rectangular shape , with the score and quarter / time positions flipped . The scores were now displayed in white text against an orange background , and the quarter and time beneath them in a white text on a blue background . The down and distance and ball location popped out in two separate boxes underneath the main bug . 2002 – 2005 . In 2002 , a new bug with more of a horizontal orientation was introduced . The " CBS Sports " logo that previously adorned the top of the bug was replaced with the CBS " eye " logo in blue and white . The bug was divided into two rectangles , the left one housing the time and quarter and the right the teams and scores , all in white text on blue . As in years past , the down and distance were contained in a pop - out box , also in the blue and white scheme . 2006 – 2008 . The 2006 season brought a completely new graphics theme for " The NFL on CBS " , including a new logo ( which also formed the base of SEC college football and NCAA college basketball logos ) and new " NFL Today " studio set , as part of a network - wide overhaul of the graphics package . The digital on - screen graphics were also changed , with red and a light shade of blue introduced from the new logo . A more complex scoring bug included the new " NFL on CBS " logo and six circle segments stacked in columns of two emanating from the logo . The first two featured the quarter and time , the next two the team abbreviations ( all in white text on the darker blue ) and the last two each team ' s respective scores in black text on a white background . The entire bug was trimmed in the red and lighter blue . The down and distance pop - out changed to a half - ellipse shape . Finally , when a team scores a touchdown , the columns that emanate from the logo collapse into the logo . The logo then quickly spins around to show the scoring team ' s logo , a full bar the shape of the combined boxes quickly protruding showing the word " TOUCHDOWN " , with the bug sparkling . After about three or four seconds of this graphic showing , the aforementioned animation takes place once more , this time the bug returning to normal . In all instances of points scored , the changed score flashes a few times to indicate a change in score , with a touchdown score changing after the " TOUCHDOWN " graphic is shown . This was also the first time that CBS began displaying constant score updates on the bottom of the screen during all of its games . On the HD broadcasts , this dark blue bar would also show where the ball for that game was at during the time the score was displayed at the right by showing a miniature football field icon . This bar is still being used today . 2009 – present . In 2009 , the score bug was changed to a top - screen banner , although the graphics package used since 2006 remains the same . This bug featured , horizontally left - to - right , the CBS " eye " logo , the down and distance against a white background , each team ' s logo , initials , and points , and then the quarter and time remaining . When the down and distance was not displayed , that and the CBS " eye " logo were replaced by a blue and red " NFL on CBS " logo . When there was a penalty , the word " FLAG " replaced the down and distance on a yellow background , with the penalty description dropping down from below the team ' s initials ; when there is an official review , the down and distance would be replaced by " OFFICIAL REVIEW " on a red background . For challenges , a drop - down below the teams initials with a dark red background shows with the word " CHALLENGE . " The play clock would flash red when it would hit 5 seconds and stays red until the play clock is reset . When a team scored a touchdown , the entire bar would change , displaying the scoring team ' s logo on the left and the team ' s main color as the background , with the word " TOUCHDOWN " with the letter spacing widening for a few moments before returning to normal . After such , the team ' s score will be highlighted their color , and the previous score will be replaced by the new score ( this also happens when the team ' s PAT or 2 point conv . is good ) . After this occurs , stats of players involved immediately appear in the bottom of the banner . A small white indicator showed on the top of the bar , on top of whatever team currently had possession of the ball . At times , at the bottom of the bar , various player stats ( such as quarterback ratings ) , game stats ( such as drive summaries ) , and situational issues in the game ( such as amount of timeouts remaining ) , would pop open for a few moments whenever it is needed . On Week 3 , the possession indicator was changed to a small dot next to the team ' s logo due to the addition of timeout indicators across the top . Beginning with September 2011 , college football broadcasts on CBS and the CBS Sports Network began using a scoring bug mirroring this one . Ratings . Through 17 weeks of the 2008 season ( September 4 - December 28 , 2008 ) , the " NFL on CBS " ' regular - season games were seen by an estimated 150 . 9 million viewers , + 14 % higher than NBC ’ s 132 . 4 million viewers , + 3 % higher than Fox ’ s 146 . 9 million viewers , and + 52 % higher than ESPN ’ s 99 . 4 million . The cumulative audience is based on Total Viewers ( Persons 2 + ) who have watched at least six minutes of NFL game coverage since the start of the 2008 regular - season .