While the ground rules have remained the same through the years, the viewing and financial landscapes have changed.

Ten years ago, cable and satellite penetration in the Denver television market was at 71 percent. Today's figure is 89.3 percent, meaning only slightly more than 10 percent of the homes with TVs don't have ESPN.

Obviously, the financial aspects of such a broadcast have diminished, even though the popularity of the Broncos remains strong.

However, Mark Cornetta, vice president and general manger of Gannett-owned 9News (KUSA-9) and KTVD-20, still sees an advantage of having an over-the-air broadcast. He cites local advertising spots within the broadcast and the airing of locally produced live pregame and postgame shows from San Diego.

Cornetta made a "blind bid" on the game, meaning he didn't know if other Denver stations made financial offers to Disney-ESPN.

"We're putting the game on Channel 20 to promote that station and to give our viewers two nights of NFL football on two stations," Cornetta said.

NBC Sports broadcast Sunday night's Chicago-Atlanta game on KUSA-9.