(April 24, 2006) -- For the first time ever, NFL game broadcasts from the previous weekend will be replayed on NFL Network just days after their live airing.
During the 2006 season, NFL Game Re-Airs will feature four of the top games from each weekend, rebroadcast exclusively on NFL Network the following Tuesday and Wednesday. Any game originally shot in high definition will air on NFL Network in HD.
Two games will be shown each Tuesday and Wednesday night with 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET/PT kickoff times.
This marks the first time in the 87-year history of the NFL that games from the regular season or playoffs will be shown outside their live window.
"Fans have been asking us for years about encore presentations of our games," said Charles Coplin, NFL Network's vice president of programming. "For NFL Network, these rights are as significant as securing the new Thursday-Saturday primetime game package."
In all, NFL Network expects to show 75 NFL games on NFL Game Re-Airs during the 2006 regular season and playoffs, culminating with Super Bowl XLI.
NFL Network's slate of games in 2006 includes 52 preseason games, 31 NFL Europe League games, eight live regular-season games, plus 75 NFL Game Re-Airs.
The total of 166 NFL-related games more than doubles NFL Network's output from 2005 and immediately establishes NFL Network as the place to watch the most NFL game action.
NFL Game Re-Airs will play in a 90-minute fast-paced format without halftime and other elements not critical to the outcome. NFL Game Re-Airs will tell the story of the game with additional features.
In order to give the games context, NFL Network will add sideline and on-field sound captured during the game and postgame press conference sound bites.
Other enhancements will include exclusive shots and camera angles from NFL Films, allowing fans an inside look at game action they did not see on Sunday. This will give fans a deeper understanding of the game, the players and the coaches.
For example, if NFL Game Re-Airs was featuring the Colts-Steelers AFC Divisional Playoff where Jerome Bettis fumbled late in the game, viewers would see related comments from Bettis, Bill Cowher and others immediately after the play, as well as slow-motion footage showing the play as it unfolded.
NFL Network has the ability to select any NFL game for use on NFL Game Re-Airs, complete with original television announcers and cameras.
Each Monday, NFL Network will announce which games will air on NFL Game Re-Airs.
