Brewer in Ad Deal With NFL Network

Anheuser-Busch Cos., the world’s largest brewer, said Sunday that it had signed a multiyear agreement with the NFL Network, the National Football League’s round-the-clock television channel.

Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed by the league-owned network or the company. The NFL Network, which began telecasting three weeks ago, is available on DirecTV, a satellite service in about 12 million homes. The network doesn’t yet have agreements with cable operators to carry the channel.

Time Warner Inc., FedEx Corp., IBM Corp., GlaxoSmithKline and Bayer also have agreements as advertisers on NFL Network.

“We are delighted to welcome Anheuser-Busch,” Chris Fuller, NFL vice president of media sales, said in a statement. “NFL Network will provide a vehicle to reach the diverse group that make up the NFL fan base.”

The NFL Network doesn’t televise regular-season or playoff games, though it is scheduled to carry preseason and NFL Europe games in 2004.

Its signature program is “NFL Total Access,” a prime-time weeknight show. The network mainly features programs about players, owners and history drawn from the archive of the most-popular U.S. sports league.