FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          CONTACT:
NFL-201                   1/16/03                                                          BRIAN McCARTHY, 212-450-2069
                                                                                                    MCCARTHYB@NFL.COM

NFL NAMES STEVE BORNSTEIN

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT-MEDIA AND

PRESIDENT-CEO OF NFL CHANNEL

The National Football League today announced the appointment of Steve Bornstein as executive vice president-media and president and chief executive officer of the recently announced NFL Channel.

In making the announcement, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said, “We are at an important crossroads in the area of NFL television.  Steve Bornstein adds tremendous strength to our team as we look ahead to our challenges and opportunities in servicing our fans on television.”

Bornstein, the former president of ESPN and ABC Television, has been serving as an advisor to the NFL on television and strategic media since last September.  In his new permanent role, he will oversee 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.

Bornstein played a pivotal role in the NFL’s December agreement to extend NFL Sunday Ticket exclusively on satellite with DirecTV through 2007.

Bornstein also headed the initiative to develop the NFL Channel, the first television programming service fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football.  The NFL Channel will begin airing next fall and will be available seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis. 

The NFL Broadcasting Committee is chaired by Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and includes six other club 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 the 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.

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