AFL on NBC sets league record rating, up 31 percent from 2003
February 12, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I) News Release
NEW YORK â Feb. 12, 2004 â The season two kick-off of the AFL on NBC on Sunday, Feb. 8 (3-6 p.m. ET) posted a 2.1 rating/5 share for regionalized coverage of five games, according to national numbers released today by Nielsen Media Research. The 2.1 rating represents a 31 percent increase from the 1.6/4 earned for the inaugural broadcast in 2003 and sets a record AFL rating, eclipsing the previous high of a 1.7/3 on Feb. 16, 2003.
"It's an encouraging start to our second year," said Ken Schanzer, President, NBC Sports. "We hope we can sustain it in the weeks and months ahead."
As NBC's coverage of the Daytona 500 takes center stage this Sunday, Week 2 of the AFL on NBC moves to Saturday, Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. ET. Regionalized coverage of three games follows the NASCAR Busch series Hershey's Kisses 300 from Daytona (Noon â 3 p.m. ET). NBC's coverage features the lead game Chicago at New York; as well as Indiana at New Orleans; and Los Angeles at Las Vegas.
Handling the regional broadcasts for the games are:
Chicago @ New York: Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Pat Haden (analyst), and Lewis Johnson (reporter).
Indiana @ New Orleans: Eli Gold (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analyst), and Rich Lenz from WDSU-TV in New Orleans (reporter).
Los Angeles @ Las Vegas: Bob Papa (play-by-play), Ray Bentley (analyst) and Mitch Roberts from KVBC-TV in Las Vegas (reporter)
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