FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL SUNDAY TICKET  7/18/01

CONTACT:
BRIAN McCARTHY, NFL, 212-450-2069
MCCARTHYB@NFL.COM

STEVE ALIC, NFL, 212-450-2066
ALICS@NFL.COM

 

NFL SUNDAY TICKET NAMES FORMER NFL PLAYER AND SPORTS ANNOUNCER SPENCER TILLMAN NEW LIVE STUDIO HOST FOR 2001 SEASON


NFL SUNDAY TICKET kicks off its eighth season this fall with former NFL player and current CBS Sports’ college football studio analyst SPENCER TILLMAN as its new live studio host, announced TOLA MURPHY-BARAN, NFL senior vice president of market development.

NFL SUNDAY TICKET, the most popular sports premium subscription package, is available to residential and commercial C-Band and DIRECTV dish owners in the U.S. and via cable and satellite dish in 30 other countries.

Tillman, who played for the Houston Oilers (1987-88 and 1992-94) and the San Francisco 49ers (1989-91), will appear at various points throughout each Sunday's programming. He will continue with CBS Sports as its lead studio analyst for “College Football Today” on Saturdays.

Tillman will appear on NFL SUNDAY TICKET beginning just before noon (ET). He will set the stage for the day's games before turning the programming over to the CBS and FOX pregame shows. Tillman will return at 1 p.m. to promote the upcoming games. Following the conclusion of the early games, he will update and direct viewers to games still in progress. As the late games end, Tillman will close the day by summarizing the day's action with a special statistical update for NFL Fantasy Football players. He will also encourage viewers to stay tuned for ESPN's Sunday Night game and ABC's Monday Night Football.

The live segments will continue to be produced by 10-time Emmy Award winner Woody Freiman at Group W's headquarters in Stamford, CT.

Following his eight-year NFL career as a running back, highlighted by a Super Bowl championship with the 49ers during the 1989 season, Tillman has enjoyed a broadcasting career as a sports anchor in New York and Houston as well as a broadcaster on regional broadcasts on FOX Sports Net. Tillman was an All-America running back for the University of Oklahoma (1982-86) where he was captain of the 1985 national championship team.

NFL SUNDAY TICKET is the premium subscription package including all AFC and NFC regional network telecasts of Sunday afternoon games. The package is available to residential C-Band dish owners, to mini-dish owners through DIRECTV, and at satellite-equipped bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments. In 2000, more than one million homeowners in the U.S. subscribed to NFL SUNDAY TICKET, while 12,000 commercial establishments subscribed to the package. It is also available to cable television subscribers in Canada and the Bahamas as well as to satellite dish owners in Central and South American via DIRECTV Latin America. In Japan, satellite dish owners may subscribe through SKY PerfecTV!.