NFL on NBC Radio

American sports radio program

From 1985–1986, the NBC Radio Network was the official, national radio provider for National Football League games. The program succeeded (and was itself, ultimately succeeded by) the CBS Radio Network's[1] package.

## Background

[edit]

On March 6, 1985, NBC Radio and the National Football League entered into a two-year agreement[2] granting NBC the radio rights to a 37-game package in each of the 1985–1986 seasons. The package included 27 regular season games and 10 postseason games.

### Prior to 1985

[edit]

NBC Radio, as early as 1934, had carried a handful of NFL games; it was particularly associated with carrying the Detroit Lions' annual Thanksgiving contests nationwide since their inception, helping to establish the Lions as a permanent part of the Thanksgiving tradition.[3]

On April 5, 1961, NBC was awarded a two-year contract for radio and television rights[4] to the NFL Championship Game for US$615,000 annually, $300,000 of which was to go directly into the NFL Player Benefit Plan.[5]

From the 1966–1976 seasons, NBC Radio alternated with CBS Radio in coverage of the Super Bowl. After sharing coverage of Super Bowl I, NBC Radio would go on to broadcast only odd numbered Super Bowls. Jim Simpson served as the play-by-play man for all of NBC Radio's broadcasts (with the exceptions of Super Bowl III, which was called by Charlie Jones and Super Bowl V, which was called by Jay Randolph) during this era. Simpson, Jones and Randolph were joined on color commentary by George Ratterman (Super Bowls I and III), Pat Summerall (Super Bowl III), Al DeRogatis (Super Bowl V), Kyle Rote (Super Bowl VII), and John Brodie (Super Bowls IX and XI).

For their coverage of Super Bowl III at the end of the 1968 season, NBC used Pat Summerall (best known for his work for CBS and subsequently, Fox) to provide an "NFL prospective" on the coverage. This was due in part to the fact that NBC was at the time, the network television provider of the American Football League (whereas CBS was the network television provider for the pre-merger National Football League). In return, for CBS Radio's coverage of Super Bowls I, II and IV, they used Tom Hedrick, normally the radio voice of the Kansas City Chiefs, to provide an "AFL perspective" for their coverage.

## Ratings

[edit]

See also: Arbitron

In January 1986, NBC Radio figures indicated an audience of 10 million for their coverage Super Bowl XX[6] between the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots.

In 1987, NBC Radio's broadcast of Super Bowl XXI[7] between the New York Giants and Denver Broncos was heard by a record 10.1 million people.

## Announcers

[edit]

See also: List of NFL on NBC announcers

### Play-by-play

[edit]

1. Don Criqui
2. Mel Proctor
3. Marty Glickman (1985)/Tom Davis (1986)

See also: Monday_Night_Football § MNF_on_radio, and List of Super Bowl broadcasters

### Color commentary

[edit]

1. Bob Trumpy
2. Dave Rowe
3. Stan White

Bob Trumpy also hosted a national, postgame call-in show called NFL Live.[8] NFL Live would officially become the name of the pregame show for the NFL on NBC television program.

As the lead broadcast team, Criqui and Trumpy were responsible for calling Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl. They performed these duties in tandem with their assignments on television; at the time Trumpy served as Criqui's analyst on Sunday afternoons.

### Thanksgiving Day series

[edit]

Main article: NFL on Thanksgiving Day

#### 1985

[edit]

1. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (Detroit vs. New York Jets)
2. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Dallas vs. St. Louis Cardinals)

#### 1986

[edit]

1. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (Detroit vs. Green Bay)
2. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Dallas vs. Seattle)

#### Playoffs

[edit]

##### 1985–86

[edit]

Main article: 1985–86 NFL playoffs

###### Wild Card playoffs

[edit]

1. Joe McConnell/Stan White (New England vs. New York Jets)
2. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (New York Giants vs. San Francisco)

###### Divisional playoffs

[edit]

1. Marty Glickman/Stan White (Miami vs. Cleveland)
2. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Los Angeles Rams vs. Dallas)
3. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (Chicago vs. New York Giants)
4. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (New England vs. Los Angeles Raiders)

###### Conference Championships

[edit]

1. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Chicago vs. Los Angeles Rams)
2. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (New England vs. Miami)

##### 1986–1987

[edit]

Main article: 1986–87 NFL playoffs

###### Wild Card playoffs

[edit]

1. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (New York Jets vs. Kansas City)
2. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Washington vs. Los Angeles Rams)

###### Divisional playoffs

[edit]

1. Tom Davis/Stan White (Cleveland vs. New York Jets)
2. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Washington vs. Chicago)
3. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (New York Giants vs. San Francisco)
4. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Denver vs. New England)

###### Conference Championships

[edit]

1. Mel Proctor/Dave Rowe (Denver vs. Cleveland)
2. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy (New York Giants vs. Washington)

### Pro Bowl

[edit]

#### 1986

[edit]

1. Don Criqui/Bob Trumpy

#### 1987

[edit]

1. Mel Proctor/Bob Trumpy

## NBC's later relationship with the NFL

[edit]

NBC Radio was bought by Westwood One in 1987, shortly after NBC Radio lost NFL rights. Additionally, Westwood One has owned the rights (either alone or in conjunction with CBS) to broadcast NFL games since NBC Radio lost them, and generally broadcast NFL games under the title CBS Radio Sports in conjunction with CBS Radio. Westwood One (along with its NFL rights) was acquired by Dial Global in 2011, and following the 2011 postseason Dial Global retired the Westwood One branding. In 2012, Dial Global announced it would be the distributor for NBC Sports Radio programming once the network launched in 2013. Though Dial Global changed its name to back to Westwood One in 2013, the organization distributed NBC Sports Radio programs from 2013 to 2020. Through this period, though NBC Sports Radio aired general discussion of NFL games and news, broadcast coverage of live NFL games continued to be carried solely by the national program NFL on Westwood One Sports and local radio broadcasters.[citation needed] However, Westwood One does presently acknowledge the NBC Radio broadcasts in 1986 as part of the entire history of the network's football coverage.[9]

### NBC NFL Sunday (2006 radio program)

[edit]

See also: NFL on Westwood One § Pregame

NBC Television broadcast at least some NFL games every season from 1965 to 1997, when they lost the rights to carry the American Football Conference package to CBS. In 2006, the NBC television network resumed their National Football League coverage under the NBC Sunday Night Football umbrella. As part of the relaunch of their coverage, NBC became a co-producer of Westwood One's radio pregame/highlight show NFL Sunday, adding the network's name to the coverage and turning it into an abbreviated radio version of Football Night in America. Al Trautwig hosted the show for the first several weeks of the season before being taken off the coverage for unspecified reasons. Chris Carlin subbed for Trautwig for a week before Scott Graham took over the hosting duties and continued to helm the show for the remainder of the season. In addition to the typical NFL Sunday score rundown and a preview of the game ahead, NBC analysts (usually Jerome Bettis or Cris Collinsworth) would provide commentary. After the 2006 season, Westwood One returned NFL Sunday to its previous format and ended the co-production arrangement with NBC.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NFL and CBS Radio jointly announced agreement granting CBS the radio rights to a 40-game package in each of the next three NFL seasons, 1987–89, April 7". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
2. ^ "NBC Radio and the NFL entered into a two-year agreement granting NBC the radio rights to a 37-game package in each of the 1985–86 seasons, March 6. The package included 27 regular-season games and 10 postseason games". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
3. ^ Jaworowski, Matt (November 24, 2016). Timeline: How football became a Thanksgiving tradition. WIVB-TV. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
4. ^ "NBC wins NFL Championship Game contract for radio and television rights". NBC Sports History Page.
5. ^ "NBC was awarded a two-year contract for radio and television rights to the NFL Championship Game for $615,000 annually, $300,000 of which was to go directly into the NFL Player Benefit Plan, April 5". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
6. ^ "Chicago defeated New England 46–10 in Super Bowl XX at the Louisiana Superdome, January 26. The Patriots had earned the right to play the Bears by becoming the first wild-card team to win three consecutive games on the road. The NBC telecast replaced the final episode of M*A*S*H as the most-viewed television program in history, with an audience of 127 million viewers, according to A.C. Nielsen figures. In addition to drawing a 48.3 rating and a 70 percent share in the United States, Super Bowl XX was televised to 59 foreign countries and beamed via satellite to the QE II. An estimated 300 million Chinese viewed a tape delay of the game in March. NBC Radio figures indicated an audience of 10 million for the game". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
7. ^ "The New York Giants defeated Denver 39–20 in Super Bowl XXI and captured their first NFL title since 1956. The game, played in Pasadena's Rose Bowl, drew a sellout crowd of 101,063. According to A.C. Nielsen figures, the CBS broadcast of the game was viewed in the U.S. on television by 122.64-million people, making the telecast the second most-watched television show of all-time behind Super Bowl XX. The game was watched live or on tape in 55 foreign countries and NBC Radio's broadcast of the game was heard by a record 10.1 million people". Nfl.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
8. ^ "Nfl Live Gives Monday Night Football Fan A Post-Game". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved October 3, 2012.[dead link‍]
9. ^ Categories (June 30, 2010). "Kevin Harlan Joins 'Westwood One' As Monday Night Football Play-By-Play Announcer | Satellite Television News". Satellitetv-news.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.

## External links

[edit]

* "MNF" on NBC Radio – announcers?
* Sports Broadcast History Forums
* 1985 NFL Commentator Crews (from Timmy)
* 1986 NFL Commentator Crews (from Timmy)

* v
* t
* e

NFL on NBC

Related programs|

* American Football League on NBC
* The NFL on NBC pregame show (Football Night in America)
* NBC Sunday Night Football
* NFL on NBC Radio
* Thursday Night Football (2016–2017)

| College football programs|

* College Football on NBC (Notre Dame, Big Ten College Countdown)
* College Football on USA

|

Other pro football programs|

* Arena Football League on NBC
* Canadian Football League
* World League of American Football on USA
* XFL on NBC

Related articles|

* NFL on television (history)
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* Super Bowl TV ratings (lead-out programs)

| American Football League|

* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

|

Baltimore Colts|

* 1960
* 1961

Pittsburgh Steelers|

* 1960
* 1961

Prime-time results|

* Sunday Night Football results (2006-present)

Commentators|

* Pregame show panelists
* Super Bowl

| Pre-AFL–NFL merger|

* AFL Championship Game
* AFL All-Star Game
* NFL Championship Game

|

Lore|

* 1982 CFL season
* Announcerless game
* "Clock Play"
* Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
* "Holy Roller"
* "No Punt Game"
* "Snowplow Game"
* Thanksgiving Day
* "Leon Lett Blunder II"
* Snowball Game

| Postseason lore|

* "4th and 2"
* "Beast Quake"
* "The Comeback"
* "Double Doink"
* "Epic in Miami"
* "Ghost to the Post"
* "Hail Larry"
* "Immaculate Reception"
* "The Interception"
* "Philly Special"
* "Red Right 88"
* "The Sea of Hands"

|

Pre-AFL–NFL merger lore|

* "The Greatest Game Ever Played"
* "Heidi Game"

Sunday Night Football lore|

* 16–0
* "Butt Fumble"
* "Colts Catastrophe"
* Brady's first game against the Patriots
* Final game of the 2021 season

AFC Championship Game|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1995
* "The Drive"
* "Freezer Bowl"
* "The Fumble"

Rivalries|

* Cowboys–Eagles rivalry
* Cowboys–Giants rivalry
* Bears–Packers rivalry
* Packers–Vikings rivalry
* Ravens–Steelers rivalry
* Commanders–Cowboys rivalry
* Colts–Patriots rivalry
* Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry

Music|

* John Colby
* Randy Edelman
* John Tesh

| Sunday Night Football|

* John Williams
* "I Hate Myself for Loving You"
* Joan Jett
* "Somethin' Bad"
* Miranda Lambert
* Faith Hill
* Pink
* Carrie Underwood

|

NFL Championship|

* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963

AFL Championship|

* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969

Super Bowl|

| Pre-AFL–NFL merger|

* I (1966)
* III (1968)

|

AFC package carrier
(1970–1997)|

* V (1970)
* VII (1972)
* IX (1974)
* XI (1976)
* XIII (1978)
* XV (1980)
* XVII (1982)
* XX (1985)
* XXIII (1988)
* XXVII (1992)
* XXVIII (1993)
* XXX (1995)
* XXXII (1997)

Sunday Night Football era
(2006–present)|

* XLIII (2008)
* XLVI (2011)
* XLIX (2014)
* LII (2017)
* LVI (2021)
* LX (2025)
* LXIV (2029)

Halftime shows|

* V (1970)
* XX (1985)
* XXIII (1988)
* XXVII (1992)
* XXX (1995)
* XLVI (2011)
* XLIX (2014)
* LII (2017)
* LVI (2021)

Pro Bowl|

* 1952
* 1953
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1972
* 1974
* 2009
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014

NFL Honors|

* 2012
* 2015
* 2018
* 2023

* v
* t
* e

NFL on television and radio

Broadcast
partners|

* ABC
* CBS
* ESPN
* Fox
* NBC
* Sky Sports

Former partners
DuMont
Sports Network
TNT

Streaming coverage|

* ESPN+
* Netflix
* NFL+
* Paramount+ (CBS Sports)
* Peacock (NBC Sports)
* Prime Video

Monday Night
Football|

* History
* Monday Night Countdown

Results
1970–2005
2006–2019
2020–present
2015–present (ABC)

Sunday Night
Football|

* ESPN
* NBC
* TNT

Results
ESPN
NBC
TNT

Pregame shows|

* CBS
* The NFL Today
* Fox
* Fox NFL Kickoff
* Fox NFL Sunday
* ESPN
* Sunday NFL Countdown
* Monday Night Countdown
* NBC
* The NFL on NBC pregame show
* Football Night in America

NFL Network|

* List of programs
* NFL AM
* NFL GameDay
* NFL Replay
* NFL Total Access
* The Timeline
* Finding Giants

Thursday Night Football
Results (2006–present)
2007 New England Patriots–New York Giants game
Miracle in Motown

NFL Network Exclusive Game Series

NFL Films|

* America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions
* Football Follies
* A Football Life
* Hard Knocks
* Inside the NFL
* NFL Dream Season
* NFL Films Game of the Week
* NFL Matchup
* NFL Top 10
* NFL Top 100
* The Perfect 10
* Quarterback

Other programs|

* DuMont
* Football Sidelines
* Football This Week
* Pro Football Highlights
* ESPN
* NFL Live
* NFL Primetime
* Nickelodeon
* NFL on Nickelodeon
* NFL Slimetime
* Super Bowl programming
* Prime Video
* NFL on Prime Video
* ITV
* The NFL Show
* Sky
* NFL on Sky Sports

Radio broadcast
partners|

* Compass Media
* ESPN
* Sports USA
* Westwood One

| Defunct networks|

* Mutual
* NBC

|

Secondary partners|

* Absolute Radio 90s (UK)
* NFL+
* Sirius XM
* TSN Radio (Canada)

Local broadcasters|

* Buffalo Bills Radio Network
* Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network
* Cleveland Browns Radio Network
* Dallas Cowboys Radio Network
* Denver Broncos Radio Network
* Detroit Lions Radio Network
* Packers Radio Network
* Jaguars Radio Network
* Las Vegas Raiders Radio Network
* New England Patriots Radio Network
* New York Giants Radio Network
* New York Jets broadcasters
* Pittsburgh Steelers Radio Network
* Titans Radio Network

Broadcasters
by event|

* NFL draft

| Pre-AFL–NFL merger|

* AFL All-Star Game
* NFL Championship Game
* Playoff Bowl

|

Postseason events|

* Super Bowl (lead-out programs)

TV technology|

* 1st & Ten
* FoxBox
* Instant replay
* NFL Sunday Ticket
* Telestrator

Other|

* Announcerless game
* Muppet Night Football
* Canadian broadcasts
* History
* 1950s
* 1960s
* 1970s
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s
* Doubleheader (television)
* Super Bowl TV ratings (lead-out programs)
* Timeline of American Football on UK television

| TV markets|

* 1994–1996 U.S. TV realignment
* List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises
* Cable TV NFL over-the-air affiliates

|

Broadcast policies|

* Blackout policies
* Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961

Network|

* ABC/ESPN
* CBS
* Fox
* NBC
* NFL Network
* Westwood One

* v
* t
* e

NFL on NBC Radio

Related programs|

* Monday Night Football
* NBC NFL Sunday
* NFL on NBC

Related articles|

* NBC Radio Network
* NBC Sports Radio
* History of Monday Night Football
* Monday Night Football results (1970–1989)
* NFL on Thanksgiving Day

Commentators|

* Monday Night Football

| World championship commentators|

* NFL Championship Game
* Super Bowl

|

Key figures|

| Play-by-play men|

* Ken Coleman
* Don Criqui
* Marty Glickman
* Charlie Jones
* Joe McConnell
* Mel Proctor
* Jay Randolph
* Jim Simpson

|

Color commentators|

* John Brodie
* Al DeRogatis
* George Ratterman
* Kyle Rote
* Dave Rowe
* Pat Summerall
* Stan White

Studio hosts|

* Bob Costas
* Scott Graham
* Al Trautwig

Studio analysts|

* Jerome Bettis
* Cris Collinsworth

NFL Championship|

* 1962
* 1963

Super Bowl|

* I
* III
* V
* VII
* IX
* XI
* XX
* XXI

Pro Bowl|

* 1986
* 1987

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template