Editing NFL Primetime

{{Short description|Sports television program}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = NFL Primetime logo.svg
| network              = [[ESPN]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1987}}
| last_aired           = present
}}
'''''NFL Primetime''''' is a sports television program that has aired on [[ESPN]] since 1987. The show is presented similarly to ESPN's own ''[[SportsCenter]]'', featuring scores, highlights, and analysis of every game of the week in the NFL.

When it debuted in 1987, the show aired every Sunday night during the NFL season. When [[NBC]] acquired the rights for Sunday night games beginning in the 2006, NBC also negotiated for exclusive rights for extended highlights during its ''[[Football Night in America]]'' pregame show, causing ESPN to begin airing ''NFL Primetime'' on Mondays. In 2019, the program was moved to [[ESPN+]].

==Original format (1987–2005)==
Until the [[2006 NFL season|2006 season]], ''NFL Primetime'' aired every Sunday night during the [[National Football League|NFL]] season and it preceded ESPN's coverage of ''[[ESPN Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' (it even aired when ESPN did not have a Sunday night game, especially from [[1990 NFL season|1990]] to [[1997 NFL season|1997]] when [[NFL on TNT|TNT]] had Sunday night games the first half of the season). The show was hosted by [[Chris Berman]], with analysis from [[Tom Jackson (American football, born 1951)|Tom Jackson]]. Berman and Jackson recapped Sunday afternoon's NFL games with highlights, statistics, and commentary.

[[Pete Axthelm]] was a regular from [[1987 NFL season|1987]] until his death in [[1991 NFL season|1991]]. Through the show's history, other co-hosts included [[John Saunders (journalist)|John Saunders]], [[Robin Roberts (newscaster)|Robin Roberts]], [[Bill Pidto]], and [[Stuart Scott]]. Pidto was often the target of good-natured ribbing by Berman, since Pidto often did recaps of games featuring losing teams. Roberts also seemed to be assigned to recap almost every game the [[Tampa Bay Buccaneers]] played between [[1990 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|1990]] and [[1992 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|1992]], when the Bucs were fielding some of the worst teams in NFL history. The position of co-host was dropped prior to the start of the [[1998 NFL season|1998 season]].

During the first three rounds of the playoffs, a half-hour edition of ''NFL Primetime'' would air after the competition of each night's games. A guest analyst typically joined Jackson on the panel, while a co-host was deemed unnecessary since Berman would only need to recap only two games on those nights. An extended edition of ''NFL Primetime'' would then air after each Super Bowl at the game's site, serving as ESPN's [[postgame show]] with player interviews.

===Presentation===
Rather than provide the usual package of scoring highlights, ''NFL Primetime'' presented extended highlights which also showed less dramatic plays. This provided context for the greater depth of analysis of each game.  A common non-dramatic play that would be shown would be a game-clinching first down while a team was running out the clock.  Some of the less dramatic plays would be used to demonstrate an overall large accomplishment.  During the highlights for the [[2000 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]-[[2000 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] matchup in [[2000 NFL season|2000]], when [[Terrell Owens]] broke an NFL record by catching 20 passes in a game (since broken by [[Brandon Marshall]]), all 20 of Owens's receptions were shown.  Other examples involved seemingly unsuccessful plays ultimately benefitting a team.  For the highlights of the [[2000 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season|Buccaneers]]-[[2000 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]] game in 2000, a contest marred by heavy rains which came down to the final minute, a play where Bucs running back [[Warrick Dunn]] broke a tackle in his own end zone to avoid a safety was shown to demonstrate it as one of the biggest plays contributing to the Bucs's victory.

The show began with Berman welcoming viewers and then giving a quick rundown of the late games before beginning the highlights of the early games.  They were generally shown in a relatively chronological order, with the 1:00 games shown first and the 4:00/4:15 games shown near the end of the program.  However, on some occasions (particularly in Week 17 when teams would be making their final push for the playoffs), the highlights would be presented less chronologically.  For Week 17 games, the highlights would instead be sorted by conference, with teams competing against each other for a playoff spot or a division title shown back-to-back.  Probably the show's most notable occurrence with this scenario came in Week 17 of the [[1999 NFL season|1999 season]], when the [[1999 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]] and [[1999 Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers]] tied in overall record, division record, conference record, and common opponent record, meaning that a spot involving the two teams would come down to point differential.  As a result, both teams ran up the score against their opponents in their final games in order to try to outscore the other team in the race.  For this scenario, the [[1999 Arizona Cardinals season|Arizona Cardinals]]-Packers and the [[1999 New Orleans Saints season|New Orleans Saints]]-Panthers highlights were shown simultaneously, with scoring by the teams in both games shown chronologically while a graphic would be shown featuring which team was leading at the time based on point differential.  When ESPN aired the Sunday Night game, the broadcast usually featured a preview of that game.  Later airings of NFL Primetime featured a [[SportsCenter]] highlight of that game.

Starting in [[2003 NFL season|2003]], a game with either high stakes for both teams or an exciting finish (typically a 1:00 game) would be chosen by Berman, Jackson, and their staff as that week's "Prime Cut."  This game would be shown in the middle of the program with an extended lead-in by Berman.  Also in 2003, a segment entitled "T.J.'s Extra Point" was introduced, where Jackson would demonstrate greater analysis over a strategy a team used to great success.  At the end of the show, a segment entitled "Primetime Players" would feature both Berman and Jackson choosing a player or team unit that particularly impressed them from that week's games.  At the turn of the millennium, a fan vote for that week's primetime player would also be conducted for the show on ESPN's website.

===Music===
A staple of the show was the various FirstCom Music instrumental pieces that played in the background during the highlights, while Berman and Jackson recapped each game. This often gave the games, even in highlight form, a more epic feel overall. This feature continues during highlights on ''The Blitz''.

For the most part, highlights from the show would feature FirstCom Music scores over the highlights.  Some songs were even played on a consistent basis for certain teams.  The [[Buffalo Bills]], for example, often had their game played out (regardless of outcome) to a dramatic piece entitled "Powersurge," featuring triumphant passages of brass instruments.  The [[Las Vegas Raiders|Oakland Raiders]], meanwhile, were often represented by an ominous-sounding piece called "Bad Company," that featured extensive use of minor-key strings, horns, and keyboards.  Other songs were commonly used for certain situations.  "International Statement," an epic-sounding song complete with a climactic build-up of low brass and strings that was arguably NFL Primetime's signature song, was often used for a high-stakes game, while "Grid-Lock," a lighter song featuring a more subdued introductory horn riff and an extended guitar solo (unusual for a song utilized in the program), was utilized for relatively unexciting games involving teams at the bottom of the standings.

On rare occasions, however, the standard FirstCom Music themes would be replaced by other music themes.  For the [[2000 Oakland Raiders season|Raiders]]-[[2000 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]] matchup in 2000, which marked their last meeting at [[Three Rivers Stadium]] as well as the stadium's second to last game, the music was replaced by classic [[NFL Films]] themes by [[Sam Spence]] including "A Golden Boy Again" and "The Raiders," while Berman confused then-current Raiders and Steelers with legendary ones.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bu9g09aAWU |title=YouTube, a Google company |url-status=dead |website=[[YouTube]] |access-date=November 26, 2016 |archive-date=April 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409130830/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bu9g09aAWU }}</ref>  A similar example involved the [[2000 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego Chargers]]-[[2000 St. Louis Cardinals season|St. Louis Rams]] matchup earlier in 2000, when the music was replaced by the [[William Tell Overture]] to underscore the Rams as the "Greatest Show on Turf" (with the music subsequently muted when the Chargers were shown making a good play).  On other occasions, non-standard music themes would interrupt the themes being played on the highlights. For the [[Washington Redskins]]' final game at [[RFK Stadium]] in [[1996 Washington Redskins season|1996]], a 36–10 win over the [[1996 Dallas Cowboys season|Dallas Cowboys]], the music was briefly replaced by their fight song "[[Hail to the Redskins]]" before returning to the previous standard theme for the final stats. In 2000, when the [[2000 Baltimore Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens]] scored a touchdown after having failed to score one in their previous five games, the music was briefly interrupted with celebratory music before returning to the standard FirstCom theme for the remainder of the highlights.

Finally, music was occasionally altered on the program, particularly in situations involving injured players.  On some occasions where a serious injury or other tragic event occurred, the music would be played at a noticeably softer volume than usual, or would be muted entirely until the highlight resumed.  After then-[[2005 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts]] head coach Tony Dungy's son James committed suicide in 2005, the highlights for the Colts's first game after his death began with silence while tributes taking place during the game were shown, with the music only playing for the actual game itself.

==Move on Monday (2006–2018)==
When [[NBC]] acquired the rights for [[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday night games]] beginning in the [[2006 NFL season|2006 season]], NBC negotiated for exclusive rights<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miller, Shales |first=James Andrew, Tom |url=http://www.uvm.edu/~rgriffin/ESPN-Miller.pdf |title=Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN |page=556}}</ref> for extended highlights during its ''[[Football Night in America]]'' pregame show. ESPN responded by moving the show to Mondays and splitting the program into two versions. ''NFL Primetime'' would then return to its old format during the playoffs, still airing on ESPN after the competition of each night's games.

===Early showing===
Originally, the first version aired two-and-a-half hours before ESPN's telecast of ''[[Monday Night Football]]'', normally 6{{nbsp}}p.m. [[Eastern Time]].  It was hosted by [[Stuart Scott]] along with analysts [[Ron Jaworski]] and [[Mike Ditka]] and aired from the site of the Monday night game preceding ''[[Monday Night Countdown]]''.  (The program broadcast from a [[parking lot]] set, in contrast to ''Monday Night Countdown'', which takes place inside the [[stadium]].  When the package began with two Monday night games on September 11, 2006, ''Primetime'' aired from [[McAfee Coliseum]] in [[Oakland, California]], while ''Countdown'' originated at [[FedExField]] in [[Landover, Maryland]]).

Due to low ratings (partially due to the repositioning of what was a Sunday evening staple), this early edition of ''NFL Primetime'' was relocated to the ESPN studios in [[Bristol, Connecticut]] every other week starting October 16.

In 2007, this show gained a new time slot, 4{{nbsp}}p.m. ET, switching with ''[[SportsCenter|SportsCenter Monday Kickoff]]'', all programs were moved to the Bristol studio, and the second version's hosts (see below) were also assigned to the earlier show.  Scott was sent to a new remote set used by ''[[Monday Night Countdown]]''.

===Late showing===
The second version airs ninety minutes after ''Monday Night Football'' ends, and it originates from the ESPN studios.  This edition is hosted by the ''[[NFL Live]]'' team of [[Trey Wingo]] and analysts [[Merril Hoge]], and occasionally [[Mark Schlereth]] or [[Mike Ditka]]. In [[2008 NFL season|2008]], [[Trent Dilfer]] joined as an analyst. In 2011, [[Tim Hasselbeck]] replaced Dilfer. This is the only version of the show to actually be in primetime, albeit only on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] at 10:00&nbsp;p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PT]] or slightly later.  This version re-airs Tuesday afternoons at 2:00&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|ET]].

Both versions show highlights, but for a shorter period of time than on the older program and with more extended analysis segments. The highlights on the current incarnation of ''NFL Primetime'' tend to be more story driven, emphasizing key player performances or game storylines as opposed to a normal recap that is found on ''[[SportsCenter]]''. Both shows are presented by [[Miller Lite]].

On December 24, 2011, during week 16 of the [[2011 NFL season]], ESPN aired ''Primetime'' in its classic timeslot and format, with Berman and Jackson recapping the action. This was due to the weekend's NFL games being played on Saturday of that weekend, and with the NBC contract running for Sundays only, ESPN its first original ''Primetime'' in 6 years.

==''The Blitz'' (2006–2016)==
Following the re-tooling of ''NFL Primetime'', Chris Berman and Tom Jackson were given an extended segment of the Sunday night edition of ''[[SportsCenter]]'' (11&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone (North America)|ET]]) called ''The Blitz''. The segment follows the same structure as the original version of ''NFL Primetime'', featuring Berman and Jackson using the same player nicknames, catch phrases, and back-and-forth banter as the original show.

On January 8, 2007, Chris Berman and Tom Jackson returned to ''NFL Primetime'' to present highlights of the [[National Football League playoffs, 2006-07|2006 NFL Playoffs]] games between the [[2006 New York Jets season|New York Jets]] and the [[2007 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]] and the [[2006 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] and the [[2006 Philadelphia Eagles season|Philadelphia Eagles]], and they remained for the entire postseason that followed.

ESPN has not used the NFL name or logo in the official segment name or in [[advertising]], leading to unconfirmed rumors of not being given permission to do so by the league. In 2007, however, on-screen graphics surrounding the set has referred to both "The Blitz" and "NFL Blitz."

[[Nike (company)|Nike]] sponsored the segments in both years in 2006 and '07; it was replaced by [[Old Spice]] in 2008.

==Early ''SportsCenter'' (2008–2016)==
In 2008, an extended version of ''The Blitz'' has aired as part of ''SportsCenter'' from 7 to 8 or 8:15&nbsp;p.m. ET.  The hosts are Berman, Jackson, Saunders and [[Trent Dilfer]].  In addition to highlights, the network has extended additional game statistics, standings, and leaderboards on the right-hand portion of the screen.  It is in direct competition to ''Football Night in America'', although it is believed that ''FNIA'' still has the official advantage in percentage of the show devoted to highlights.  Coincidentally, the revamp of ''SportsCenter'' came after NBC hired [[Dan Patrick (sportscaster)|Dan Patrick]] to team with [[Keith Olbermann]] on ''FNIA'' highlights; Patrick and Olbermann were the premier anchor team on that show in the 1990s.

==''NFL Primetime'' on ESPN+ (2019–present) ==
On September 13, 2019, ESPN announced that Berman and Jackson would return for a new digital-only edition of ''NFL Primetime'', streaming weekly throughout the NFL season on [[ESPN+]] beginning on September 15, 2019 (in time for Week 2 highlights). The program streams live at 7:30{{nbsp}}p.m. ET on Sundays during the regular season and is updated with highlights for the Sunday and Monday night games upon their completion.<ref name="ESPN 2019 press release">{{Cite web |date=September 13, 2019 |title=NFL PrimeTime with Chris Berman and Tom Jackson Returns for the 2019–20 NFL Season on ESPN+ |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2019/09/nfl-primetime-with-chris-berman-and-tom-jackson-returns-for-the-2019-20-nfl-season-on-espn/ |access-date=September 15, 2020 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref> Playoff editions of ''NFL Primetime'' also stream on ESPN+ after the competition of each night's games; conference championship round and Super Bowl editions are also simulcast on ESPN. The show also features some of the same music used on the original version of NFL Primetime. <ref>{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2019 |title=NFL PrimeTime is back! Chris Berman explains where it came from |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27609402/nfl-prime-back-chris-berman-explains-where-came-from
|access-date=April 15, 2025
|website=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>
Due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], in 2020 Jackson opted out of the program. He was replaced by [[Booger McFarland]];<ref name="ESPN 2020 press release">{{Cite web |date=September 9, 2020 |title=ESPN+ NFL PrimeTime is Back, Back, Back starting Sunday |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2020/09/espn-nfl-primetime-is-back-back-back-starting-sunday/ |access-date=September 15, 2020 |website=ESPN Press Room U.S. |language=en-US}}</ref> this change subsequently became permanent.

As for ESPN itself, this show was replaced with a new program, ''NFL Rewind'' (also hosted by Wingo with Tim Hasselbeck and former NFL head coach John Fox as analysts), which follows the same format as ''NFL Primetime''.

==Personalities==

===Current===
* [[Chris Berman]] (Full season host, 1987–2005 and 2019–present, contributor and playoff host 2006–present)<ref name="ESPN 2020 press release" />
* [[Booger McFarland]] (Full season analyst, 2020–present)<ref name="ESPN 2020 press release" />
* [[Scott Van Pelt]] (Late game host, 2019–present)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Paulsen |date=September 13, 2019 |title=NFL Primetime returning as ESPN+ show |url=https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/09/nfl-primetime-espn-return-berman-jackson/ |access-date=October 4, 2020 |website=sportsmediawatch.com |publisher=Sports Media Watch}}</ref>
* [[Ryan Clark (American football)|Ryan Clark]] (Fill-in analyst, 2019–present)<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2019 |title=RYAN CLARK TO FILL IN FOR TOM JACKSON ON NFL PRIMETIME |url=https://barrettsportsmedia.com/2019/10/03/ryan-clark-to-fill-in-for-tom-jackson-on-nfl-primetime/ |access-date=October 4, 2020 |website=barrettsportsmedia.com |publisher=Barrett Sports Media}}</ref>
* [[Marcus Spears (defensive end)|Marcus Spears]] (Analyst, 2020–present){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Randy Moss]] (Super Bowl analyst)<ref name="ESPN, Inc">{{cite web |last1=Volner |first1=Derek |title=ESPN's Super Bowl Sunday: Four-Hour Postseason NFL Countdown Headlines Pregame; NFL PrimeTime and SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt Follow Super Bowl LVI |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2022/02/espns-super-bowl-sunday-four-hour-postseason-nfl-countdown-headlines-pregame-nfl-primetime-and-sportscenter-with-scott-van-pelt-follow-super-bowl-lvi/ |website=espnpressroom.com |date=February 11, 2022 |publisher=ESPN, Inc. |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

===Former===
* [[Tom Jackson (American football, born 1951)|Tom Jackson]] (Full season analyst, 1987–2005 and 2019–2020, contributor and playoff analyst 2006–2016)<ref name="ESPN 2020 press release" />
* [[Pete Axthelm]] (Host, 1987–1990){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[John Saunders (journalist)|John Saunders]] (Host, 1987–1989)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Renner |first1=Tom |title=Sports World Mourns Death Of ESPN Anchor, Hastings Resident John Saunders |url=https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/rivertowns/obituaries/sports-world-mourns-death-of-espn-anchor-hastings-resident-john-saunders/676727/ |website=dailyvoice.com |date=August 10, 2016 |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>
* [[Bill Pidto]] (Host, 1995–1996){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Robin Roberts (newscaster)|Robin Roberts]] (Host, 1990–1994)<ref>{{cite web |title=Robin Roberts - ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126147&page=1 |website=abcnews.go.com |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>
* [[Stuart Scott]] (Host, 1997–2006){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Mike Golic]] (Analyst, 2006)<ref name="Times Publishing Company">{{cite web |last1=Ginn |first1=Sharon |title=NFL makes changes to prime-time lineup |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2006/09/08/nfl-makes-changes-to-prime-time-lineup/ |website=tampabay.com |publisher=Times Publishing Company |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref>
* [[Ron Jaworski]] (Analyst, 2006)<ref name="Times Publishing Company"/>
* [[Mike Ditka]] (Analyst, 2006–2007)<ref name="Times Publishing Company"/>
* [[Mark Schlereth]] (Analyst, 2006–2007){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Trent Dilfer]] (Analyst 2008–2010){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Merril Hoge]] (Analyst, 2006 – 2016){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Trey Wingo]] (Host, 2006 – 2019){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Tim Hasselbeck]] (Analyst, 2011 – 2020){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[John Fox (American football)|John Fox]] (Analyst, 2019){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Jeff Saturday]] (Analyst, 2017–2018 and 2020–2022)<ref>{{Cite web |last=McDonald |first=Charles |date=July 19, 2019 |title=The original 'NFL Primetime' can never be topped |url=https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/7/19/20694494/remember-nfl-primetime-chris-berman-tom-jackson-espn-og |access-date=October 4, 2020 |website=sbnation.com |publisher=Vox Media, LLC.}}</ref>
* [[Wendi Nix]] (Host, 2020–2022){{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
* [[Steve Young (American football)|Steve Young]] (Super Bowl analyst)<ref name="ESPN, Inc"/>

==See also==
* ''[[Monday Night Countdown]]''
* ''[[Monday Night Football]]''
* ''[[NFL Insiders]]''
* ''[[NFL Live]]''
* ''[[NFL Matchup]]''
* ''[[Sunday NFL Countdown]]''

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
* [http://media.espn.com/ESPNToday/2006/July_06/NFLprog.htm Press Release]

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070203071653/http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnShow?showID=FBPT Official show page]

{{ESPN original programming}}
{{MNF}}
{{National Football League on television and radio|state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:1980s American sports television series]]
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[[Category:Sunday Night Football]]
[[Category:NFL pregame television series]]