Fox Sports is "pulling out all the stops" to cover Eagles-Rams this weekend, as the net will move its "Fox NFL Sunday" show for the second time this season "out of its studio" in L.A. to broadcast from the Olympic Cauldron next to L.A. Memorial Coliseum, according to Rob Tornoe of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. Tickets to the show are "available for free," and Fox' postgame show, "The OT," will also "appear live from the Coliseum." Fox had "considered doing something similar with its crew to cover" the Rams' season opener last year, but they "ultimately decided against it, in part due to cost." The decision to make Eagles-Rams the featured game in Sunday's national window on Fox meant moving Cowboys-Giants to the 1:00pm ET regional window and also meant shifting Troy Aikman, Joe Buck and Erin Andrews off of a Cowboys-Giants game -- something that "hasn't happened often in the 15 years Aikman has been on Fox's 'A-Team'" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/8). In L.A., Tom Hoffarth noted the only other Fox remote pregame show this season has been at the Naval Station in Norfolk, Va., for a show that "honored military members on Veterans’ Day weekend" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 12/7). NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA's Enrico Campitelli wrote Fox is trying to "create a 'College Gameday'-like atmosphere" at the Coliseum. That concept "brings up an interesting dilemma: What if it's all Eagles fans that show up for the show?" Fox has "put out a casting call for Rams fans for Sunday" with a listing on ProjectCasting.com. The listing reads in part: "Calling all LA Rams fans! The audition for a role in the upcoming NFL Sunday pre-game show, check out the casting call breakdown below" (NBCSPORTS.com, 12/7).
THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME: NBC and NFL Network combined for a 10.2 overnight rating for the Falcons' down-to-the-wire win over the Saints on "TNF," down 14% from an 11.8 for the comparable Raiders-Chiefs matchup in Week 14 last year. Two years ago, Vikings-Cardinals earned a 7.4 overnight, but that game aired only on NFL Network. Thursday night's game peaked at an 11.4 rating between 11:00-11:30pm ET for the game's conclusion, giving NBC a win in primetime. New Orleans led all markets with a 46.1 local rating, followed by Atlanta (22.3), Richmond (15.1), Minneapolis-St. Paul (14.2) and Albuquerque (13.6) (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
