FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL-56                    9/17/02

BORNSTEIN JOINS NFL AS ADVISOR

Steve Bornstein, the former president of ESPN and ABC Television, will join the NFL as an advisor on television and strategic media issues, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced today.

Bornstein will work closely as a senior advisor to Commissioner Tagliabue, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Roger Goodell, and the NFL Broadcasting Committee. Bornstein will begin in his new role this week and work out of the NFL office in New York.

“We are at an important and opportune time in the area of NFL television,” Commissioner Tagliabue said. “In coming months, for example, we must consider our alternatives with respect to our ‘Sunday Ticket’ satellite package and the evolving digital cable universe.  We will focus intensively on the NFL’s strategic choices, seeking to maintain the league’s premiere position in sports television. Steve Bornstein’s extensive experience and knowledge of broadcast, cable, and new media will be a tremendous asset to us in this task.”

Bornstein’s role will extend to all aspects of the NFL on television, including the development of the league’s recently completed digital production center at NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey.

The NFL Broadcasting Committee is chaired by Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and includes six other clubs owners – Bill Bidwill of Arizona, Woody Johnson of the New York Jets, Jerry Jones of Dallas, Robert Kraft of New England, Art Modell of Baltimore, and Dan Snyder of Washington.

Bornstein served as president and chief executive officer of ESPN from 1990-99. In 1996, he was given the additional title of president of ABC Sports. He served as chairman of Walt Disney Internet Group from 1999-2001 before taking over as president of ABC Television, a post he held for one year before resigning last May.