Television Experiments

FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-35 7/26/00

NFL TO CONDUCT TELEVISION EXPERIMENTS

The NFL periodically revises its television policies to ensure that the best possible game telecasts are presented to fans. The following changes have been adopted for this year:

There will be two in-game experiments during nine nationally televised preseason games:

At each of the nationally televised preseason games (excluding Tokyo and Mexico City), a lightweight Umpire Camera will be available for use by the telecasting network. The Umpire Cam was tested in NFL Europe League games this past season. It is worn on the bill of the umpire’s cap.

At each of the nine nationally televised preseason games, the network -- with prior approval of the respective team’s head coach -- may interview at halftime on camera a "star" player from the first half as well as the head coach. On-camera halftime interviews of NFL head coaches began last season.

A determination will be made following the preseason as to whether these experiments will be continued for the 2000 regular season.

Other points regarding game coverage for all network games, preseason and regular season in 2000:

Network access policy implemented in 1999 continues in 2000, including TV access inside a team’s locker room before a game and the placement of a microphone on a player during the pregame warm-up period. The network must receive approval from the team.

Also, each network partner may request at one game a week to be allowed a camera and microphone in a winning team’s locker room POSTGAME for taped use only.

In addition, a one-year experiment with Sunday doubleheader telecasts will occur. The experiment will give more fans an opportunity to see games of national interest, which should be especially well-received late in the season. The experiment is as follows:

Longstanding policy did not allow more than two Sunday afternoon games into any market where a Sunday afternoon game is played. In those markets, CBS and FOX each could carry only one game (one at 1:00 PM ET and one at 4:00 PM ET). Thus, whichever network had the scheduled doubleheader lost the ability to bring another game into those markets and also lost the ability to include the local rating for that game in its national average.

In order to support home team ratings and interest, a limited experiment will allow the third game into a market in which a game is being played only if:

The home game is sold out prior to the blackout deadline, and;

The telecast does not directly compete with the home game in a given time period.

By way of example, Pittsburgh hosts Baltimore on September 3, a CBS doubleheader day. Under the previous policy, viewers in Pittsburgh would see:

1:00 PM ET:
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (assuming sellout) (CBS)

4:00 PM ET:
Philadelphia @ Dallas (FOX)

Under the one-year experiment, with a Pittsburgh sellout, viewers in Pittsburgh will see:

1:00 PM ET:
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (CBS)

4:00 PM ET:
Philadelphia @ Dallas (FOX) and N.Y. Jets @ Green Bay (CBS)

Conversely, the experiment will not produce a third game in the Dallas market on September 3 because a CBS doubleheader game at 4:00 PM ET in Dallas would directly conflict with the Cowboys’ home game. Viewers in Dallas will see a 1:00 PM ET AFC game on CBS and the Philadelphia @ Dallas game on FOX at 4:00 PM ET (assuming sellout).