NFL ANNOUNCES PRIMETIME KICKOFF WEEKEND & THANKSGIVING DAY GAMES
The NFL announced today its 2009 Kickoff Weekend primetime television schedule – including a Monday night “AFL 50th” doubleheader – and the Thanksgiving Day national TV tripleheader.
In a tradition that began in 2004, the Super Bowl champion annually hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff the following year. This September 10 at 8:30 PM ET on NBC, the Super Bowl XLIII champion Pittsburgh Steelers will host the AFC South champion Tennessee Titans, who had an NFL-best 13-3 record last season.
The Sunday night primetime game (8:30 PM ET) on NBC will feature a division matchup as the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears. Green Bay and Chicago have won seven of the past eight NFC North titles.
On Monday night, September 14, ESPN will host a Monday Night Football doubleheader that will be part of the NFL’s celebration of the 50th anniversary season of the American Football League. The four clubs competing that night began playing in the inaugural 1960 AFL season. The first game (7:00 PM ET) will send the Buffalo Bills to Foxboro to visit the New England Patriots, the decade’s winningest team (102-42 since 2000). The MNF nightcap (10:15 PM ET) will be an AFC West battle as the Oakland Raiders host the three-time defending AFC West champion San Diego Chargers.
Continuing an innovation introduced in 2006, the NFL will serve up three nationally-televised games on Thanksgiving Day.
The early game (FOX, 12:30 PM ET) will be an NFC North meeting of the Green Bay Packers at the Detroit Lions. The second game (CBS, 4:15 PM ET) features the Oakland Raiders visiting the Dallas Cowboys in the Raiders’ first Thanksgiving game since 1970.
The Thanksgiving primetime game will be at 8:20 PM ET on NFL Network with the defending NFC East champion New York Giants visiting the Denver Broncos, marking the first Thanksgiving contest in Denver since 1963.
The announcement of the Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving games was made Monday by NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL at the NFL Annual Meeting in Dana Point, California.
The rest of the 2009 regular-season schedule will be completed and announced in April.
The 2009 Kickoff Weekend national primetime and Thanksgiving Day television games:
KICKOFF WEEKEND
September 10 - Thursday
Tennessee at Pittsburgh
NBC - 8:30 PM
September 13- Sunday
Chicago at Green Bay
NBC - 8:30 PM
September 14 - Monday
Buffalo at New England
ESPN - 7:00 PM
San Diego at Oakland
ESPN - 10:15 PM
THANKSGIVING
November 26 - Thursday
Green Bay at Detroit
FOX - 12:30 PM
Oakland at Dallas
CBS - 4:15 PM
New York Giants at Denver
NFL Network - 8:20 PM
NFL AND DIRECTV EXTEND NFL SUNDAY TICKET AGREEMENT THROUGH 2014 SEASON
New “Red Zone Channel” to Be Widely Offered on Multiple Platforms
New NFL Sunday Ticket Package Available Via Broadband
NFL Network Carriage Agreement Extended
The National Football League announced today an agreement to extend DIRECTV’s rights to carry NFL Sunday Ticket. DIRECTV will continue to have exclusive television rights to air the package of Sunday afternoon games through the 2014 NFL season.
The agreement also significantly broadens the reach of NFL Sunday Ticket by enabling NFL fans that cannot receive DIRECTV satellite service to get NFL Sunday Ticket via broadband. This service will begin no later than 2012.
In addition, the NFL will offer fans (also no later than 2012) a new “Red Zone Channel” that shows crucial live action cut-ins of all Sunday afternoon games starting at 1 p.m. ET and continuing through the conclusion of the 4 p.m. ET games. The “Red Zone Channel” will be available to cable, telco and satellite systems, wireless devices, and the Internet.
“We are pleased to extend a partnership with DIRECTV that has complemented and supported our broadcast television packages for 15 years,” said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. “We are looking forward to having the Red Zone channel on cable and other media platforms as well as showing NFL Sunday Ticket via broadband to the homes that cannot get satellite. This new content enhances our tradition of being the most pro-consumer, widely available sport on television.”
“The NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ service has been a part of DIRECTV since our first year of operation and is one of the defining characteristics of our best-in- class positioning,” said Chase Carey, president and CEO of DIRECTV Group. “This latest extension allows us to retain and broaden our most popular sports subscription service. Through our wireless offering to NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ customers and the new broadband service to non-customers, we’re now able to expand the reach to even more NFL fans everywhere.”
Among the new features for fans are:
Red Zone Channel: subscribers who do not have DIRECTV will have access to the “Red Zone” channel through local cable systems or telco, satellite systems and Internet providers. This special channel has been part of NFL Sunday Ticket on DIRECTV the past four seasons and will continue for those subscribers. It provides live look-ins and real-time highlights from every Sunday afternoon game starting at 1 P.M. (ET) through the late afternoon games. The channel switches from game to game and airs live action when a team is in the Red Zone (inside the 20-yard line) and poised to score. A host also provides real-time scoring and fantasy updates.
NFL Sunday Ticket on Broadband: Fans who live in areas where DIRECTV’s service is not available, such as apartment buildings or in residences with poor sightlines to a satellite signal, will be able to purchase a new NFL Sunday Ticket broadband package.
DIRECTV customers who purchase NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ and the SuperFan™ package receive all Sunday afternoon games in HD; a Game Mix channel with up to eight games on one screen; the Red Zone Channel; the SUPERCAST™ service that streams every live NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ broadcast to laptop computers; and the NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ Mobile service that delivers up-to-the-minute highlights, and soon full-length games, to cell phones, pda’s and other wireless devices.
DIRECTV also has extended its carriage agreement with NFL Network which airs seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. NFL Network will continue to be offered in DIRECTV’s CHOICE package.
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