Contact:
Mary Griswold

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9/29/98

NHK JAPAN TO BROADCAST FIRST-EVER NFL GAME IN HDTV

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) will produce two regular season NFL games in the High Definition Television (HDTV) format for broadcast in Japan. This marks the first time that a full HDTV production of NFL games will be broadcast.

The first game to be featured is the September 27^th matchup between the Carolina Panthers and the Green Bay Packers. The second HDTV game will be the New Orleans Saints against the New England Patriots on October 4^th. The games will be broadcast in the HDTV format on Japan’s High Definition Satellite Network October 19 and 20, respectively, in prime time.

"It’s great to be working with NHK on this ground-breaking project," said Don Garber - Managing Director, NFL International. "NHK has been one of our most technically aggressive international broadcast partners. They have experimented with HDTV technology in their coverage of the Super Bowl for many years."

"We are all pleased to have this great opportunity to produce two NFL games in High Definition," said Osamu Abe – President, NHK Enterprises, Inc. "We appreciate the support and effort that the NFL and its teams have provided us to carry out this project. It is a wonderful event and the Japanese audience will enjoy the broadcast."

NHK Enterprises America Inc., in association with the NFL International is producing the games. NHK is using one of its own mobile, multi-camera HD production trucks. This truck is spending five months in the U.S. to cover various events. The truck will be on site at Ericcson stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina and at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

NHK is Japan’s only public broadcaster and is the oldest and largest network group consisting of two terrestrial channels, two satellite channels, and the High Definition Network. NHK’s Technical Research Laboratories began the development of High Definition technology in the 1970’s. In 1994, the world’s first full High Definition network went on line in Japan, with NHK as its managing partner. Today, there are 1,435,000 receivers in Japan capable of receiving HDTV. All major international sporting events since the inception of the HD broadcast, including the Olympics and World Cup Soccer, have been covered in HD by NHK.

NHK, one of the NFL International’s longest broadcast partners in Japan, recently renewed an agreement with the NFL to continue broadcasting a selection of games through the 2001 season. This season, in addition to two High Definition games, NHK will broadcast 49 NFL regular season games, the playoffs and a live transmission of Super Bowl XXXIII.