NBC

World's largest plasma delivers the fast motion of Sunday night NFL action in beautiful, full high definition

The nation's weekly marquee football game was shifting from Monday night to Sunday night, the most-watched night on TV, and to a new network. The new network, NBC, wished to present the audience of its Sunday night football broadcasts with a greater understanding and a better viewing experience of the NFL's fast-paced clashes (vs. its competitors' offerings), while attracting huge ratings. Panasonic helped NBC Universal meet the challenge of bringing innovation (and viewers) to the broadcast by supplying it with two 103" full HD 1080p plasma displays, which allow a more in-depth presentation of the day's NFL action.

Integrating the 103" plasmas into the set of the "Football Night in America" studio show, NBC Universal became the first commercial customer to purchase the 103" plasma display. The 103" displays are located on each side of the on-air talent desk on the newly-constructed set at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York and are an integral part of the studio design. One of the displays is used in tandem with a custom telestrator that allows hosts to diagram and illustrate play-by-play action during the broadcast. In addition, four Panasonic 50" TH-50PH9UK high definition plasma displays are installed over the 103" plasmas in the studio to offer pristine, stunning visuals of the season's game action.

"'Football Night in America' is the essential destination show for NFL fans, providing the first complete look at all of the NFL highlights and stories of the day," said David Neal, Executive Producer of NBC's "Football Night In America." "These amazing 103" hi-def screens add a fabulous visual element to the game action and storyline breakdowns that we're bringing to our viewers each week."

The super-size 103"s were easily integrated with NBC's video production equipment thanks to the optional TY-FB9HD HD SDI terminal boards.

"NBC Sunday Night Football," the premier primetime game season broadcast, is preceded by the "Football Night in America" studio show, which debuted September 2006. NBC's unprecedented six-year NFL deal continues through the 2011 season with Super Bowls in 2009 and 2012. Both "Football Night in America" and "NBC Sunday Night Football" are broadcast in high definition.