TNT Sunday Night Football
Encyclopedia
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcast by Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
(TNT) of Sunday evening National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) games.
Sunday night games (1990–1997)
TNT televised NFL games from 19901990 NFL season
The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
through the 1997 season
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
. They broadcast Sunday night NFL games during the first half of the season, with ESPN
ESPN Sunday Night Football
ESPN Sunday Night Football is the ESPN cable network's weekly television broadcasts of Sunday evening National Football League games. The first ESPN Sunday night broadcast occurred on November 8, 1987, while the last one aired on January 1, 2006....
taking over for the second half. TNT got a couple of Thursday night games to show, as ESPN did in the second half (TNT's Thursday night games were aired in place of Sunday night games that would have otherwise conflicted with the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
). As has always been the case for cable broadcasts, TNT distributed their feed to local television stations in the market of the teams playing.
ESPN anchor Chris Berman referred to TNT's football programming by its original "Nitro" brand, even after TNT abandoned that moniker. (This is not to be confused with the professional wrestling show, also colloquially called WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
.)
It does not appear that TNT's coverage ever used the title Sunday Night Football, and indeed ESPN filed for a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
on that title in 1996
1996 NFL season
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
(the trademark was later assigned to the NFL, allowing for its eventual use by NBC
NBC Sunday Night Football
NBC Sunday Night Football is a weekly television broadcast of Sunday evening National Football League games on NBC that began airing on Sunday, August 6, 2006 with the pre-season opening Hall of Fame Game. Al Michaels serves as the play-by-play announcer, with Cris Collinsworth as the color...
).
The last game was aired on October 26, 1997
1997 NFL season
The 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
. Fittingly, one of the teams involved was the Atlanta Falcons
1997 Atlanta Falcons season
-Schedule:-References:* *...
, based in the home city of Turner Broadcasting - Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
(they played at
Bank of America Stadium
Bank of America Stadium is a 73,778-seat football stadium located on of land in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. It is the home facility of the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise. It also hosts the annual Belk Bowl which features teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East...
their division rivals, the Carolina Panthers
1997 Carolina Panthers season
-Schedule:-References:...
, located up Interstate 85
Interstate 85
Interstate 85 is a major interstate highway in the Southeastern United States. Its current southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus interchanges with Interstate 95 in Petersburg, Virginia, near Richmond...
in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
). Unlike the Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
and Thrashers
Atlanta Thrashers
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...
, however, Turner never owned the Falcons at any point in time (due to NFL ownership rules).
Studio shows
The network had a one-hour studio pregame show, titled The Stadium Show, from 1990 to 19941994 NFL season
The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
. In 1995
1995 NFL season
The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
, this was reduced to a half-hour and retitled Pro Football Tonight, running though 1997. Ernie Johnson was one of the studio hosts during this time, and Mark May
Mark May
Mark Eric May is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN.-Football career:...
(now of ESPN) was one of the studio analysts before moving to the booth for the final season.
Fantasy Football legacy
The Sunday night TNT halftime show was the first major network NFL broadcast to utilize a player statistics "crawl" at the bottom of the screen. With Fantasy FootballFantasy football
Fantasy football can refer to:* Fantasy football * Fantasy football * Fantasy football * Fantasy football * Fantasy Football League, a British television show...
in its early stages of popularity, and the internet not being readily available to the general public, this was the only way for most fans to get updated Sunday player stats without waiting until the 11:00 PM or midnight sports highlight shows on CNN and ESPN
SportsCenter
SportsCenter is a daily sports news television show, and the flagship program of American cable network ESPN since the network launched on September 7, 1979. Originally broadcast only daily, SportsCenter is now shown up to twelve times a day, replaying the day's scores and highlights from major...
. However, in the second half of the NFL season when ESPN would broadcast Sunday night games, Fantasy Football fans would be disappointed since ESPN did not provide the same detailed crawl during their Halftime show.
Super Bowl Television
In addition to the Sunday night games, TNT also presented an annual special, Super Bowl Television. The program, which aired on Friday and Saturday night, mixed a preview of that season's game with entertainment segments. Ernie Johnson hosted the show from the Super BowlSuper Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
host city.
The end of TNT's coverage
The package ended when ESPN gained the cable and satellite TV rights to the entire season; those rights began in 19981998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
. TNT replaced the game coverage with movies.
Play-by-play
- Gary BenderGary BenderGary Bender is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee in to the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona network after 18 years calling the NBA Phoenix Suns games.-Early career:...
(1992–1994) - Skip CaraySkip CarayHarry Christopher "Skip" Caray, Jr. was an American sportscaster, best known for his long career as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball...
(1990–1991) - Verne LundquistVerne LundquistMerton Laverne "Verne" Lundquist, Jr. is an American sportscaster, currently employed by CBS Sports television.-Early life and career:Lundquist was born in Duluth, Minnesota...
(1995–1997)
Hosts
- Vince CelliniVince CelliniVincent Robert Cellini is a long-time sports broadcaster for radio and television. Most recently, he was an anchor and program host for The Golf Channel. It was reported that his contract was not renewed for 2010.-Early life and career:...
(19951995 NFL seasonThe 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
-19971997 NFL seasonThe 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
) - Ernie Johnson (19901990 NFL seasonThe 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period...
-19941994 NFL seasonThe 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
)
Analysts
- Keith Jackson (19971997 NFL seasonThe 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
) - Mark MayMark MayMark Eric May is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN.-Football career:...
(19951995 NFL seasonThe 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
-19961996 NFL seasonThe 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
) - Warren MoonWarren MoonHarold Warren Moon is a former American professional gridiron football quarterback who played for the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos and the National Football League's Houston Oilers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs...
(19951995 NFL seasonThe 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...
) - Lawrence TaylorLawrence TaylorLawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
(19941994 NFL seasonThe 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season...
) - Randall CunninghamRandall CunninghamRandall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...
(19961996 NFL seasonThe 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...
) - Sean JonesSean Jones (defensive end)Dwight Sean Jones is a former American football defensive end, who played for the Los Angeles Raiders , Houston Oilers , and the Green Bay Packers . Jones was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1993 season...
(19971997 NFL seasonThe 1997 NFL season was the 78th regular season of the National Football League. The Oilers relocated from Houston, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee...
)