POSTED: Wednesday January 28th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NBC 'S SUPER BOWL XLIII PREGAME SHOW PRESENTS A FULL DAY OF SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

In-Depth Features, Interviews & Analysis Of Super Bowl XLIII; Exclusive Sit-Downs With Obama & Springsteen

       Celebrity
Appearances From Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Kevin James, Jay Leno, Conan
O’Brien; Performances From Faith Hill, Journey, John Legend Highlight
NBC’s Super Bowl Pregame Show





       Today’s Al Roker to Host “Super Suite”





       Jennifer Hudson to Sing National Anthem



TAMPA—January 29, 2009—The lead up to the Super Bowl, a full day
of football combined with music, comedy and entertainment, along with
exclusive interviews with President Barack Obama from the White House
and Bruce Springsteen, kicks off on NBC at Noon ET with NBC’s Super
Bowl XLIII Pregame Show. NBC’s pregame coverage will be filled with
expert analysis, interviews, features on the participants and an
insider’s look at the biggest day in sports. The NBC crew will rotate
from sets at the NFL Experience, NFL Tailgate and from the “Pirate
Ship” inside the stadium, with live reports from team hotels and locker
rooms. The “Super Suite,” hosted by “Today’s” Al Roker, will be
celebrity central. Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem as the
final act before kickoff.



“The Super Bowl is much more than a game, it’s become one of our
country’s biggest holidays,” said Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal
Sports & Olympics. “It’s a day when families and friends gather
together to celebrate a uniquely American day and we’ve put together a
full day of football and entertainment that we believe has something
for everyone, whether you’re an avid fan or someone who watches only on
this day.”



NBC’s pregame coverage is hosted by Bob Costas, joined by co-hosts Cris
Collinsworth, Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick; analysts Jerome Bettis
and Tiki Barber; and reporter Peter King. Joining the regular “Football
Night in America” crew are Super Bowl winning coaches Tony Dungy and
Mike Holmgren, along with Matt Millen and Rodney Harrison. The “Sunday
Night Football” team of Al Michaels, John Madden, Andrea Kremer, Alex
Flanagan and Bob Neumeier will contribute reports and analysis.



9 A.M. ET “TODAY” KICKS OFF NBC’S COVERAGE: During “Today’s” special
two-hour Super Bowl program, beginning at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT, Meredith
Viera, Al Roker and Ann Curry will give viewers a rare
behind-the-scenes look at the sights, sounds, parties and food of the
big game as well as the preparations that go into Super Sunday.  They
will also explore the city of Tampa and experience the local Super Bowl
fever. Tiki Barber will get a VIP tour of the stadium from his twin
brother Ronde, who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.



NOON ET “ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL”: Bob Costas will kick off NBC’s
pregame coverage live at Noon ET from the “Pirate Ship” leading into a
comprehensive look back at the 2008 NFL season featuring the best of
NFL Films cinematography and exclusive audio from players and coaches.



HAIL TO THE CHIEF: NBC News’ Matt Lauer will sit down with President
Barack Obama for a live interview from the White House during NBC’s
Super Bowl Pregame Show.



BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: Bruce Springsteen, who will be performing at
halftime of Super Bowl XLIII, will be the subject of an exclusive
sit-down during pregame with Bob Costas. Nightly News anchor Brian
Williams, a native of the Jersey shore, is contributing an essay on his
idol Springsteen in the pregame show.



COVER ME: Among the features in the Super Bowl XLIII pregame show are
segments on the Cardinals’ Ken Whisenhunt, Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin
and Larry Fitzgerald; features on Mike Tomlin, Troy Polamalu, James
Harrison, beloved defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and Ben
Roethlisberger of the Steelers; analysis of each team with Patriots
head coach Bill Belichick, who analyzed game film with Collinsworth;
and a look at what the players experience during Super Bowl week.
Rodney Harrison will analyze how to defend the seemingly unstoppable
Fitzgerald.



“LITTLE BIG SHOW”: Olbermann and Patrick, who together redefined sports
highlights, will break down the best highlights from the AFC and NFC
this season.



BACK STAGE PASS: NBC will follow the Cardinals and Steelers throughout
the lead up to the game, from the team hotels, to the team buses, to
the first-ever Super Bowl pregame reports from the locker rooms, to the
teams’ sidelines. Patrick, Olbermann, Bettis, Barber, Kremer, Flanagan
and Neumeier will shadow the AFC and NFC champs.



ROKER TO HOST SUPER SUITE: “Today’s” Al Roker will host NBC’s pregame
coverage from the “NBC Super Suite” from the NFL Experience in Tampa.
The Super Suite will be celebrity central during NBC’s pregame show
with appearances and segments scheduled from among others Will Ferrell,
Tina Fey, Kevin James, Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel, Hayden Panettiere
and Rainn Wilson.



TOP CHEF: Tom Colicchio from Bravo’s Top Chef, will join Tiki Barber
and Jerome Bettis in judging a “Cook-Off” between previous “Top Chef”
contestants exploring the cuisines of Arizona and Pittsburgh.



GATORADE SHOWER: CNBC’s sports business reporter Darren Rovell will
take a look at Gatorade and its iconic presence in the Super Bowl,
which most believe started with Harry Carson’s Gatorade shower of his
coach Bill Parcells in 1986 but actually originated with the Chicago
Bears.



MUSICAL PERFORMANCES: NBC’s pregame show will feature live performances
from rock stars Journey and John Legend. Faith Hill will perform a
special Super Bowl version of her weekly “Sunday Night Football” theme
song “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night.” Hill also will sing America
the Beautiful prior to Jennifer Hudson singing the anthem.



“LET THE SUNSHINE IN”: The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore will provide updates on the weather from Tampa throughout the pregame.




       Members of the media can get more information about NBC
Universal and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web
site at www.nbcumv.com.



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Keywords · Obama · NBC · Super Bowl · Tina Fey · Will Ferrell · Kevin James · Jay Leno · Conan O\'Brien · Faith Hill · Journey · John Legend · NBC\'s Super Bowl Pregame Show

Name: Brian Walker
Organization: NBC
Email:
Phone: +1.212-664-5533
URL: http://www.nbcuni.com

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