Contact:
Pete Abitante/Mary Griswold
212/450-2000

For Immediate Release
9/2/98

From A to Z - - Algeria to Zimbabwe - - NFL action will be seen in 161 countries and territories this season. In addition to game coverage, the NFL has produced several new programming elements for the international marketplace, including a series of educational vignettes, a bi-weekly highlights package, and a 30-minute magazine-style program.

"Play Football," the NFL’s initiative to spur participation and awareness through grass roots events, will be communicated to fans through a series of 17 thirty-second vignettes to air on television. Created exclusively for the international broadcasters by NFL Films, the vignettes explain the basics of the game in an informative and entertaining way, partially utilizing animation from Sony’s NFL GameDay ’99 video game.

Another new programming element introduced by NFL International is a bi-weekly satellite service designed to provide up-to-the-minute video and film highlights of the best NFL action each week. The highlight packages are available to NFL broadcast partners.

"We’ve created these new programming elements to build awareness and further educate fans outside of the U.S. about football in an entertaining format," said Anne Murray, vice president of NFL International television. "Whether it’s game action or shows that take an inside look at the sport and its stars, millions of fans worldwide will have the opportunity to experience the NFL via television."

NFL Films will continue to produce NFL programming such as NFL Blast, which returns for a second season with a new look and a continued objective to "take the helmets off the players" and provide an inside look at the NFL. This weekly magazine show gives fans a look at the best plays of the week, and also showcases coaches, cheerleaders, and fans. Programs such as NFL Touchdown, Week in Review, and The Beginner’s Guide to American Football return with new looks.

For the first time, NFL coverage in Canada, Mexico, and Japan - - three of the NFL’s core international territories - - will parallel the level of coverage in the United States, with an entire season of games (252) available to fans in each country.

In Canada, long-time partners Global TV and TSN/RDS will continue to provide fans with a mix of games. Newcomer Rogers Cable, representing the Canadian cable TV industry, will offer NFL SUNDAY TICKETÔ and highlights programs to fans for the first time on cable TV systems throughout Canada. The NFL SUNDAY TICKET package, the most successful premium sports package in the U.S., will provide fans with seventeen weeks of regular-season Sunday afternoon games.

In Mexico, Televisa will continue to showcase the NFC package and Monday Night Football, and will televise Super Bowl XXXIII live from Miami. TV Azteca will continue its coverage of the AFC package, Sunday Night Football, and the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. For the first time, both networks will send their on-air talent to the U.S. on several occasions during the season to present games lives from NFL stadiums. ESPN International, ESPN DOS, Fox Sports Americas and Galaxy Latin America will also provide a full package of games and programs to satisfy fans’ cravings.

Japan’s NHK and Gaora will return to provide a combination of games to Japanese viewers. For the first time, NHK will have the ability to present live games to its viewers. Newcomer PayPerView Japan will launch the NFL SEASON TICKETÔ package on the SkyPerfecTV digital platform, presenting five live games weekly (up to eight games total) to Japanese viewers. Beginning in October, NTV Japan will present a weekly NFL program to Japanese fans with an entertaining flair, while Fuji TV and TV Tokyo will provide fans with regular NFL highlights.

Several new broadcasters have joined the NFL, including Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, SAT 1 in Germany, and TV2 in Norway. These broadcasters will join long-time partners including Sky Sports in the U.K., Canal+ in Spain and France, Tele+ in Italy, and DSF in Germany to present the NFL in exciting and innovative ways for the millions of NFL fans in Europe.