Editing NFL on CBS (section)

====Attempts at replacement programming====
CBS made a bid on [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) [[NHL on CBS|rights]] in the wake of the loss of the NFL contract, but in a stunning blow to CBS, [[NHL on Fox|Fox]] outbid them for those rights as well.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fox Outbids CBS for N.H.L. Games|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9403E2DD163BF933A2575AC0A962958260&scp=4&sq=National+Hockey+League+Fox&st=nyt|author=Richard Sandomir|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 10, 1994|access-date=March 20, 2008}}</ref> The replacement programming CBS ended up airing on Sunday afternoons in the fall of 1994 and 1995 involved mostly a package of encore [[made-for-TV movies]] under the umbrella title ''CBS Sunday Afternoon Showcase'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Rich|first=Alan|date=September 27, 1994|title=Cbs Sunday Afternoon Showcase Treacherous Beauties|url=https://variety.com/1994/tv/reviews/cbs-sunday-afternoon-showcase-treacherous-beauties-1200438365/|work=Variety|location= |access-date=}}</ref> which were targeted towards women<ref>{{cite news |last=Glimpse|first=Jennifer|date=October 23, 1994|title=Focus : Hallmark Yards : CBS AIMS TO SCORE AGAINST FOX FOOTBALL WITH MORE FILMS TARGETED AT WOMEN|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-23-tv-53516-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|location= |access-date=}}</ref> in an attempt to [[Counterprogramming (television)|counterprogram]] NBC and Fox. However, they made very little headway with some [[List of CBS television affiliates (by U.S. state)|affiliates]] forgoing the movie package altogether and instead airing either, local and/or religious programs, professional wrestling and [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] television shows such as ''[[Highlander: The Series]]''; by 1996, CBS [[NASCAR on CBS|picked up additional]] [[NASCAR]] [[Winston Cup]], [[Busch Series]] and [[Camping World Truck Series|Craftsman Truck]] races in order to compete in some form.

In 1994, CBS had a new series of [[Boxing on CBS|boxing]] bouts on Saturday or Sundays under the ''[[Eye on Sports]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/07/sports/march-madness-stays-on-cbs-s-calendar.html|title=March Madness Stays on CBS's Calendar|first=Richard|last=Sandomir|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 7, 1994}}</ref> banner. CBS continued airing boxing on a somewhat regular basis until 1998, by which time they had the NFL (after acquiring the [[American Football Conference]] (AFC) package from [[NFL on NBC|NBC]]) and [[College Football on CBS Sports|college football]] back on their slate.

One of the often cited reasons for the [[Canadian Football League]]'s failed [[CFL USA|American experiment]], and part of the reason why the CFL fell behind the NFL in terms of quality players, was the state of the league's American television contract. The league, which had held a U.S. network television contract in the 1950s and again briefly in [[1982 CFL season|1982]], was then being carried on [[ESPN2]], at the time a nascent channel devoted to [[extreme sports]] that was not nearly as widely available as its parent network and only carried a limited number of the league's games (with ESPN itself airing some games to fill in airtime available due to the [[1994 Major League Baseball strike]], as well as the [[Grey Cup]] on [[Broadcast delay|tape delay]]). It was not until after the [[1995 CFL season|1995 season]] that the CFL, mainly through the action of its American franchises, approached CBS to see if it could get coverage.<ref name="CFLUSADemise">{{cite news|title=Birmingham Joins List of Homeless Baltimore Stallions Weighing Options, Too, After Browns Drop Bombshell.|url=http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1995/vp951107/11070400.htm|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|publisher=[[Virginia Tech]]|date=November 7, 1995}}</ref> However, by the time negotiations started, the CFL had decided to fold or relocate all of its American franchises, and the negotiations with CBS accordingly fell through. It would not be until several years later that the CFL reached a television contract in the United States, on a much smaller network ([[America One]]).

The following year, in 1996, CBS added college football games featuring the [[Southeastern Conference|Southeastern]] and [[Big East Conference (1979–2013)|Big East]] conferences on Saturday afternoons. It was the beginning of a rebuilding process that would eventually lead to the return of the NFL to CBS.