SamboraBlog

NETWORKS KICK INTO HIGH GEAR FOR NFL Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 09/2/07

BY MIKE HUGHES
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE

Television is almost ready for its brief life cycle. Dozens of shows will debut loudly; most will soon die quietly.

First, however, is the one sure thing: The pro football season is starting.

That opens Thursday with the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Indianapolis Colts, hosting the New Orleans Saints on NBC, Channels 4 and 10. In the next four days, CBS, Fox and ESPN jump in.

"The ratings were up, interestingly enough, for all four (networks) last year," says Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports.

That was the year of change with games and sportscasters shifting nights and networks:

The prime-time network game — Mondays on ABC for 36 years — moved to Sundays on NBC. Ratings nudged up 2 percent, Ebersol says. "It was the most-watched prime-time (football) package since 2000."

The prime-time cable-or-satellite game on ESPN moved from Sundays to Mondays. Ratings jumped almost 40 percent, says producer Bob Rauscher. "The Oct. 23 Giants-Cowboys game was the most-viewed program (excluding breaking news) in the history of cable."

The Sunday afternoon games still prospered, Ebersol says. CBS' ratings were up 1 percent; Fox, 6 percent.

This year, NBC has made only minor changes. The games still have Al Michaels and John Madden in the booth, with Andrea Kremer on the sidelines. The pregame, studio show has added Tiki Barber and Keith Olbermann.

ESPN did more tinkering.

It switched analysts. Joe Theismann is out; Ron Jaworski — who says he sees his niche as "the x's and o's, the football side of the game" — is in.

He'll join Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser in the booth. Michele Tafoya and Suzy Kolber will be on the sidelines.

ESPN also added three people — Emmitt Smith, Bill Parcells and Keyshawn Johnson — to the studio team. For the second half of the opening doubleheader, it will have three Mikes (Greenberg, Golic and Ditka) in the booth, with Bonnie Bernstein on the sidelines.

A new version of the Hank Williams Jr. theme song has been taped, this time backed by Brian Setzer, Richie Sambora, Gretchen Wilson and more.

That new theme kicks in Sept. 10, during the busy start to the season. The schedule includes:

Thursday: A half-hour "NFL Kickoff" concert at 8 p.m. is followed by the Saints-Colts game. The Saints were featured last year amid post-Katrina interest, but Madden says the focus now is on football. "I remember asking . . . "Is this just a feel-good story?' Then they came into Dallas and played the Cowboys (and) I said, "They are the real deal.' "

Sept. 9: CBS and Fox launch their seasons.

Sept. 9: NBC's Sunday lineup begins with the studio show at 7 p.m. and the New York Giants at the Dallas Cowboys at 8:15. That puts the focus sharply on Barber, the retired Giant. "I'm going to tell you what is really going on," he promises.

Sept. 10: ESPN has its doubleheader with the Baltimore Ravens at the Cincinnati Bengals at 7 p.m., then the Arizona Cardinals at the San Francisco 49ers at 10:15.

Afterward: The lineup settles in with one key point: "Flex week" kicks in Nov. 18.

The flexible schedule started last year as the big advantage of Sundays over Mondays. For the first time, the NFL allowed a network to shift games if one of the teams had slumped.

"That is a big thing," Madden says. "We know we are not going to peter out at the end."

Last year, Ebersol says, NBC didn't even list its tentative schedule for the seven flex weeks. It switched games only three times, however; this year, it lists a tentative game for each week, starting with Chicago at Seattle on Nov. 18.