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CBS JOINS WITH SONY IN EXPANDING HIGH DEFINITION BROADCASTS OF NFL AND COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES EACH WEEK
"NFL ON CBS" and "SEC ON CBS" College Football Games to Air Each Saturday and Sunday in High Definition with 5.1 Digital Audio
CBS Sports announced today that Sony Electronics will once again sponsor the high definition (HD) broadcasts of its NFL schedule with expanded HD coverage of more games each week throughout the 2007 NFL season, and for the first time will sponsor the HD broadcasts of all its SEC ON CBS college football schedule.
CBS Sports, through its relationship with Sony, will present for the first time all its college football games in high definition television during the 2007 season. For 12 consecutive weeks throughout the season, beginning with Tennessee at Florida on Saturday, Sept. 15 (3:30 PM, ET), CBS Sports will present exclusive live national network broadcasts of SEC home games in HD.
A total of 18 college football contests will be broadcast in HD, including the SEC Championship Game featuring the Eastern and Western Division champions and the Army-Navy game on Saturday, Dec. 1, the Sun Bowl on Monday, Dec. 31 and the Gator Bowl on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008.
Since 1998, CBS Sports and Sony have teamed up to bring NFL fans games in highest definition television format -- 1080i lines of picture resolution, along with 5.1 digital audio. This year, THE NFL ON CBS will expand its coverage to five-to-six of its top NFL games each Sunday of the regular-season on the CBS Television Network during the 2007 NFL season. Sony also will sponsor CBS Sports' HD broadcasts of this season's AFC playoff games, including the AFC Championship Game on January 20, 2008. By broadcasting virtually all games each week in HD, CBS anticipates that most American households will have access to at least one CBS HD NFL game each week.
Historically, Sony first became a sponsor of the Network's HD coverage of the NFL in 1998, and has helped catapult CBS as the industry leader in HD broadcasts of the NFL.
- CBS Sports and Sony were responsible for the first ever broadcast of a professional football game in high definition when the Buffalo Bills faced the New York Jets live on Sunday, November 8, 1998. The game was the first of four high definition games presented by CBS Sports and Sony during the 1998 season.
- CBS Sports and Sony joined forces to broadcast the 2004 AFC Playoffs and Super Bowl XXXVIII, the first time any network’s entire NFL playoff slate was broadcast in HD.
- CBS Sports and Sony broadcast three NFL games each Sunday of the 2004 regular-season in HD, as well as the 2005 AFC Playoffs, including the AFC Championship Game.
"Sony's continued relationship with CBS Sports since 1998 has helped solidify our position as a leader in HD programming by offering a wide range of high quality content," said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and Sports. "This relationship not only gives more NFL ON CBS fans and viewers the very best in HD programming, but now for the first time, college football fans of the SEC ON CBS will be able to experience the whole season in the unparalleled viewing quality of HD as well."
Two-hundred and four of CBS's owned and affiliated stations are currently broadcasting in digital, covering approximately 99.9 percent of the nation.
CBS Television is comprised of the CBS Television Network -- with over 200 owned and affiliated stations reaching virtually every television home in the United States; the Network's programming arms CBS Entertainment, CBS News and CBS Sports; and CBS Enterprises, a global leader in distribution.
