Dick Ebersol Seeks To Clarify NBC's Planned Changes For "FNIA"

NBC Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol said that the net's new plan for its "Football Night in America" pregame show is "not significantly to cut down on the total highlight footage" from Sunday afternoon games, but rather to "emphasize certain key games and spend less time on others," according to Neil Best of NEWSDAY. Ebersol sought to "clarify plans" for the show that he feared were "misinterpreted in some quarters" following an NBC conference call Wednesday. He contended that highlights "remain a key part of the show's identity, and that NBC values its ability to show more extensive ones of the day's games than any other TV outlet." Best noted the net does plan to "give more emphasis to previewing that night's NBC game than in the past, including during the earliest part of the show, which is contractually absent of highlights anyway" (NEWSDAY.com, 6/4). In Houston, David Barron notes the reports that "FNIA" would reduce highlights "sparked speculation in some quarters that NBC might cede some of its highlights rights, which doesn't ring true." If anything, it is an "acknowledgment that NBC needs to do something more to differentiate the show" from Fox' "The OT" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/5).

Writer Looking Forward To Harrison's Frankness On FNIA

FRESH FACES: SI.com's Don Banks wrote he is "eager to hear" Rodney Harrison in his new role on "FNIA" because he likely is "not going to be one of those ex-players who sugarcoats his words on TV in order to maintain all his close, personal friendships around the league." Banks: " Harrison has never played much with subtlety, and I don't think he'll tip-toe in analyzing the game either. ... Watch out, current NFL players. If you're not careful, Harrison will still be capable of leveling you from the blind side" (SI.com, 6/4). In California, John Maffei writes new "FNIA" analyst Tony Dungy is a "soft-spoken man, and it will be interesting to see if he can be critical of his fellow coaches." Meanwhile, Jerome Bettis, who is not returning to the show after three years, was "personable and likeable on TV" and "brought some life to the show" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 6/5). In Milwaukee, Bob Wolfley writes Dungy and Harrison replacing Bettis and Cris Collinsworth on the show "appears to be a net loss." It will be "hard to replace" Collinsworth, "no matter how good Dungy and Harrison turn out to be" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/5).

WELCOME TO THE HUDDLE: In San Diego, Jay Posner reported NFL Network this week hired Mark Teitelman as Producer of its NFL game coverage. Teitelman began working for ESPN in '93 and "over the past 16 years performed myriad duties on NFL prime-time telecasts for ESPN, ABC, NBC and NFL Net, although he has never produced a game." Teitelman will produce Rams exhibition games this season for KMOV-CBS, working with NFL Net Dir Craig Janoff (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/4).