NBC would share third season with DirecTV

Fans of NBC's "Friday Night Lights" may get more chances to cheer on the Dillon Panthers.

The network is reportedly thisclose to locking down a deal with satellite service DirecTV to share the burden of producing the series -- which would mean that the show will return for a third season.

"It's an innovative deal where NBC found a partner who will share costs and exhibition windows," a source tells Deadline Hollywood Daily, which broke the story.

Details of the agreement haven't been released yet, though DHD reports that DirecTV and NBC would each run "Friday Night Lights" on multiple platforms. It's not yet clear how the sharing arrangement would work -- whether DirecTV would get first crack at new episodes, a la the NBC-USA deal for "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," or where NBC would place the show on its schedule.

NBC has been in talks with several other networks about sharing "FNL," which had an abbreviated 15-episode season this year because of the writers' strike. The CW and TNT were among those reportedly in discussions about the show, until DirecTV emerged as the front-runner.

"Friday Night Lights" averaged only 6.2 million viewers a week this season, although its fans are among the more loyal on TV and have organized a save-the-show campaign targeting NBC executives. It does perform fairly among affluent viewers, which helps any show's cause.