In 2005, Comcast-owned cable network OLN—which would rebrand the following year as Versus—made an eight-year, $450 million offer for rights to a new late-season package of National Football League games. The network had been expanding into a mainstream sports service, having also recently acquired the cable rights to the National Hockey League. The NFL ultimately decided to decline offers by third-party broadcasters for the package, and chose to air the games on NFL Network instead.
