Biggest ever season of NFL American football action coming soon to Ch4

2 September 2014

 

Ahead of the start of the new NFL season, Channel 4 has announced the biggest ever raft of American football programming on British terrestrial television.  

In recent years the NFL has once again captured the imagination of the British public with nearly a quarter of a million fans expected to attend three sold out regular season games at Wembley stadium in the autumn. 

Channel 4, as the BIRTHPLACE AND terrestrial home of the National Football League on TV IN THE UK, will broadcast all three Wembley games live, as well as a further 17 regular season live games and the showpiece Super Bowl XLIX, live from Arizona, in February.

In an NFL first, the Wembley game between the Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons on Sunday 26th October will kick-off in a stand-alone time of 1.30pm,  meaning the whole of America will be waking up to the clash in London. 

To mark the occasion, Channel 4 will include NFL themed content.  In addition to live action and analysis from the big game between Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons, that mornings edition of  Sunday Brunch will feature some very distinguished guests.

Long-time NFL fan and amateur player for the London Warriors, Vernon Kay returns as the host of NFL: The American Football Show.  Channel 4’s regular-season highlights show moves to a new Monday night SLOT, bringing  the action to viewers immediately after the weekend games. Week one’s show will feature, amongst other,  the newly crowned Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks, starting the defence of their crown against the Green Bay Packers.

Live coverage of NFL’s Sunday Night Football game will again be hosted by the legendary duo of Nat Coombs and Mike Carlson, joined by special guests across 17 regular season live games.   First up is the September 7th clash between two of the biggest names in the game - Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning and his opposite number at Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck.

Channel 4 will also broadcast Hard Knocks, a five part reality sports documentary series, about the Atlanta Falcons as they prepare for the new season and that all-important London clash.  Produced by HBO, the series follows the Falcons players, coaches, and staff during the daily demands of an NFL training camp.

For the younger fans, Channel 4 will air Rush Zone, a 44 episodes of the kid’s animation series that centres on a young American football fan called Ish. 

Channel 4 hopes to build on the success of last season, which saw over a million terrestrial viewers staying up into the early hours to watch its coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII.  

Announcing the new season of NFL programmes, Channel 4’s commissioning editor for sports Jamie Aitchison said: “NFL fans in the UK are spoilt for choice this season on Channel 4; The Wembley games feature the likes of the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins, two of the biggest names in the sport and icons from our coverage back in the 80’s. We look forward to bringing the sport into more homes than ever”

Channel 4 has hired North One Television to produce its American football coverage including the three sold out regular season NFL games at Wembley stadium and the Super Bowl.  They will also produce the channel’s regular season live games on Sunday night and a brand new weekly highlights show.

Award winning North One previously provided Channel 4 with its ground breaking coverage of Italian football and the NBA. 

North One CEO Neil Duncanson said: "It's great to be back producing sport for Channel 4 - particularly during this very special year for the NFL in the UK. With not just one but three sell out games going out live from Wembley it's a real opportunity to build on an already significant fan base. We're hugely excited to have the opportunity to help do just that."

Full line up of NFL programmes on Channel 4: 

• International Series Games – live coverage of the three ‘sold out’ regular season games from Wembley: 

Miami Dolphins @ Oakland Raiders  - Sunday 28th September- Kick-off 6pm

                          Detroit Lions @ Atlanta Falcons - Sunday 26th October - Kick-off 1.30pm

                          Dallas Cowboys @ Jacksonville Jaguars - Sunday 9th November - Kick-off 6pm

• Super Bowl XLIX - Live coverage of the game in Phoenix, Arizona  - Sunday 1st February 2015
• Sunday Night Football – 17 regular season live games, presented by Nat Coombs, with analysis from Mike Carlson.  
• NFL: The American Football Show – A new Monday night highlights show presented by Vernon Kay offering the very best of the action from the new NFL campaign, while Nat Coombs has all the media reaction and breaking stories.  These 17 x one hour highlight shows will broadcast weekly during the regular season.    
• As the season reaches a climax, Vernon Kay will present three special Monday night play-off highlights shows on the 6th, 13th and 20th of January
• Hard Knocks – a five part reality sports documentary series following the players, coaches, and staff of the Atlanta Falcons.   The first episode will air on Wednesday 3rd September at 00.55 
• Rush Zone - 44 episodes of the kids animation series that centres on a young American football fan called Ish, who must protect shards of a power source called The Core, hidden in various NFL stadiums. Starts Monday 6th  September at 05.40