2013 NFL schedule release: Get a first look at the season Thursday night

The NFL will announce the 2013 regular season schedule on Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET on the NFL Network.

By Jeff Briggs Apr 18, 2013, 8:49am EDT

UPDATE: The 2013 NFL regular season schedule has been released. Click here for more information.

The 2013 NFL regular season schedule will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 18, on the NFL Network and NFL.com. The NFL Network will air a three-hour program to release and analyze the schedule for the upcoming season.

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While teams already know who they are playing and where, they will find out when their games are on Thursday. The schedule release will also let the public know which games will be broadcast in primetime as a part of the Thursday, Sunday, and Monday night game packages.

Former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol will appear as a guest analyst on the NFL Network show, offering the point of view of a television executive when it comes to NFL scheduling. Ebersol is responsible for much of the current state of primetime NFL broadcasting. He brought Sunday Night Football to NBC and helped create the flex scheduling that allows NBC to select a different game for its primetime broadcast than the originally scheduled contest starting in Week 11 of each season.

The 2013 NFL season will open with the Baltimore Ravens playing on the road on Thursday, Sept. 5, but it is unknown which of their 8 road opponents will host the game.