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{{Short description | NBC's NFL pre-game coverage throughout history}}
The [[NBC]] television network's in-studio pre-game coverage for their [[National Football League]] [[NFL on NBC|game telecasts]] has been presented under various titles and formats throughout NBC's NFL coverage history.

==History==
===''GrandStand'' (1975–1976) {{anchor|grandstand}} ===
NBC's first official NFL pre-game show was '''''GrandStand''''',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nbcsports.com/our-history#decade_5|title="GrandStand" debuts|website=NBC Sports History Page}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1975/09/15/nbc-tries-a-grandstand-play |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Leggett |first=William |date=September 15, 1975 |page=55 |title=NBC tries a Grandstand play}}</ref> a program that doubled as a competing sports [[anthology series]] to  ''[[Wide World of Sports (American TV program)|ABC's Wide World of Sports]]'' during the off-season (''GrandStand'' also served as the pre-game show for [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]]'s ''[[Major League Baseball Game of the Week]]'' during the [[1976 Major League Baseball season|1976 season]]). ''GrandStand'' premiered in [[1975 NFL season|1975]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/26-04-1038.pdf|title=A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 2|last=Brulia|first=Tim|website=Pro Football Researchers}}</ref> with hosts [[Jack Buck]] and [[Bryant Gumbel]] (who joined Buck sometime later in the season). Prior to 1975, NBC aired the [[Sunday morning talk show|political talk show]] ''[[Meet the Press]]'' in the NFL pre-game show's timeslot (12:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern]]) against ''[[The NFL Today]]'', the pre-game show of [[NFL on CBS|CBS]] since {{nfly|1967}}.

In [[1976 NFL season|1976]], Jack Buck left ''GrandStand'' in order to return to the booth as a [[play-by-play|play-by-play announcer]], remaining with NBC. He was replaced as co-host by [[Lee Leonard]].

Leonard (who would later become a co-host of [[ESPN]]'s ''[[SportsCenter]]'') left the program in [[1977 NFL season|1977]], and was replaced by [[Mike Adamle]] and Regina Haskins<ref>{{cite web|title=Fancy Figures Vs. Plain Facts|url=http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093918/2/index.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716144458/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1093918/2/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 16, 2012|work=[[Sports Illustrated]]|publisher=[[Time Inc.]]}}</ref> as Gumbel's co-hosts. For the post-game show, ''GrandStand'' kept the ''[[Sperry Corporation|Sperry]] NFL Report'', although later incarnations of the post-game would be retitled the ''[[Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)|Budweiser]] NFL Report''.

===''NFL'' (1977–1986)===
In [[1977 NFL season|1977]], NBC dropped the ''GrandStand'' moniker in favor of '''''NFL''''', which the title being paired with a year number that corresponded to the then-current NFL season (such as ''NFL '77'' and ''NFL '78'').<ref>{{YouTube|title=NFL '85 Commercial (1985)|id=rwgYs91lYO4}}</ref> Beginning with ''NFL '80'', NBC would pioneer the use of in-game highlight packages<ref>{{YouTube|title=1985 NFL Break Los Angeles Rams Denver Broncos|id=2DHqWnrOuLQ}}</ref> ("Let's go to New York for an ''NFL '80'' update") NBC would use this particular method of titling their pregame show until the [[1987 NFL season|1987 season]].

Bryant Gumbel hosted the ''NFL on NBC'' pregame show through the [[1981 NFL season|1981 season]], when he left NBC Sports to become co-anchor of NBC's morning program ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]''. In his final two seasons on ''The NFL on NBC'', Gumbel served as the sole host for the pre-game show. Gumbel was subsequently replaced by [[Len Berman]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/26-05-1045.pdf|title=A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 3|last=Brulia |first=Tim|website=Pro Football Researchers}}</ref> who was joined by Adamle, [[Pete Axthelm]] (who left following the [[1985 NFL season|1985 season]]) and [[Ahmad Rashad]].

For Berman's [[1983 NFL season|second season]] (and what turned out to be his final full season) as host, [[Bill Macatee]] (who left following the [[1984 NFL season|1984 season]]) and [[Dave Marash]] (who left following the [[1983 NFL season|1983 season]]) replaced Adamle and Rashad. Rashad would return to the pre-game show in 1984 and continue onward through the [[1988 NFL season|1988 season]].

In October 1984, NBC was also covering the [[1984 World Series|World Series]] between the [[1984 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] and [[1984 San Diego Padres season|San Diego Padres]]. Even though Game 5 was on a Sunday afternoon (Game 5 was at 4:30&nbsp;p.m. ET), [[Bob Costas]] (who anchored [[Major League Baseball on NBC|NBC]]'s World Series coverage with Len Berman) was still in [[New York City]] to host ''NFL '84''. At the end of the pre-game show, Costas left the New York studio to travel to [[Detroit]] to cover that night's baseball game at [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]]. In the meantime, Macatee filled-in for Costas, providing updates and halftime highlights. Costas later interviewed the Tigers in their [[locker room]] that night.

In [[1985 NFL season|1985]], NBC moved its Sunday pre-game show to 12:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]] no matter what time that market got a game. [[The NFL Today|CBS]] followed suit in [[1986 NFL season|1986]]. Previously, NBC and CBS would air their pre-game shows at 1:30 and 3:30&nbsp;p.m. Eastern Time for markets that were only receiving games with 2:00 or 4:00&nbsp;p.m. Eastern start times.

From the mid-to-late 1980s, NBC would to open its NFL pre-game show with a feature called "Great Games, Great Moments," which rebroadcast an original clip (from an NBC telecast, as opposed to [[NFL Films]]) of a play from a classic NFL game originally televised on the network. The instrumental music that NBC used for the "Great Games, Great Moments" clip was "Constant Energy"<ref>{{YouTube|title=Craig Palmer - Constant Energy (NFL On NBC Theme) - NFL Films-Type Music|id=VTebwHNioDc}}</ref> by Craig Palmer. During the 1986 season, NBC experimented with using a [[studio audience]] for its ''NFL '86'' telecasts; this would be dropped after that season. [[Paul Maguire]] served as an analyst from 1986 to 1987, alongside Costas and Rashad.<ref>{{YouTube|title=1987 Week 12 Halftime Report with Bob Costas, Paul Maguire, Ahmad Rashād Pt. 1|id=VaSwsafpYKI}}</ref>

===''NFL Live!'' (1987–1994)===

====1987–1988====
In [[1987 NFL season|1987]], the network's pre-game show was retitled '''''NFL Live!''''' (a title that would later be used by ESPN for the NFL analysis program previously titled ''[[NFL Live|NFL 2Night]]'' – although without the [[exclamation point]] – in [[2003 NFL season|2003]], six years after NBC lost the broadcast rights to the league's [[American Football Conference]] to CBS). [[Gayle Gardner]] would join the team as an analyst in [[1988 NFL season|1988]], alongside Costas and Rashad. Also in 1988, Costas' predecessor, Len Berman<ref>{{YouTube|title=September 11, 1988 NFL Live (NFL on NBC Pregame Show) Part 1 with commercials.wmv|id=W8vUHENOx0Q}}</ref> temporarily returned as the program's host as Costas was covering that year's [[1988 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]] in [[Seoul]] for [[NBC Olympic broadcasts|NBC]]. [[Gayle Sierens]], who made history as the first female play-by-play announcer in NFL history one year earlier, would join Berman while Costas, Rashad and Gardner were in Seoul. Paul Maguire also briefly returned to ''NFL Live!'' (he had earlier left the program to become a color commentator for NBC) during the Olympics period.

====1989–1993====
For the [[1989 NFL season|1989]] season, [[O. J. Simpson]] became an analyst for ''NFL Live!'' alongside Costas;<ref>{{YouTube|title=OJ Simpson Narrates the Ohio Football Story 1989 |id=EwM0Jh9aRn0}}</ref> Simpson remained on the program until the end of the [[1993 NFL season|1993 season]]. (Simpson was arrested on two counts of [[O. J. Simpson murder case|murder]] on June 17, 1994, and remained incarcerated until his acquittal on October 3, 1995.) That year, the program introduced the [[John Tesh]]-composed theme "Gridiron Dreams".<ref>{{cite web|title=Gridiron Dreams|url=http://www.80stvthemes.com/ra/NFLLIVE90.ra|work=80sTVThemes.com}}</ref> In [[1990 NFL season|1990]], [[Will McDonough]]<ref>{{YouTube|title=OJ wearing THE gloves on Dec. 15, 1990?|id=hwrG-NIdGJc}}</ref> moved over from [[NFL on CBS|CBS]]' ''[[The NFL Today]]'' to join ''NFL Live!'' He would leave the program after the 1993 season to serve as a sideline reporter and host of the program's "News and Notes" segment. In [[1991 NFL season|1991]], [[Bill Parcells]] (who left after just one season for a role as an in-booth analyst for NBC) joined the team.

For Week 1 of the 1991 season, [[Marv Albert]] substituted as host of ''NFL Live!''. Regular host Bob Costas along with O. J. Simpson, play-by-play broadcaster [[Tom Hammond]] and analyst [[Todd Christensen]] were assigned to cover the [[1991 World Championships in Athletics|world track and field championships]] in [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]].

Bob Costas held the main hosting position through the [[1992 NFL season|1992 season]], but would continue his involvement with ''The NFL on NBC'', albeit in a more limited role such as delivering pre-taped, one-on-one interviews.<ref>{{YouTube|title=Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones & Jimmy Johnson Interview 1994 Super Bowl |id=Ab4CzbRTNQk}}</ref> [[Jim Lampley]]<ref>{{YouTube|title=Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith 1994 Super Bowl Post Game Int |id=yg2_Y0PFDTw}}</ref> replaced Costas as the host of ''NFL Live!'' in 1993, before leaving the program in favor of becoming a play-by-play announcer for NBC's NFL telecasts.

[[Mike Ditka]]<ref>{{YouTube|title=1994 Browns at Eagles - 4: Halftime Show |id=ijkK2Q92rE4}}</ref> also joined ''NFL Live!'' as a regular commentator that year. For the 1993 season, "Gridiron Dreams" was replaced as the program's theme music by a composition composed by [[John Colby (musician)|John Colby]].<ref>{{cite web|title=colbymusic|url=http://www.colbymusic.com/|work=Colby Music}}</ref>

====1994–1997====
From [[1994 NFL season|1994]] to [[1997 NFL season|1997]], former ''NFL Today'' host [[Greg Gumbel]] served as the program's host, alongside Ahmad Rashad. Meanwhile, a revamped version of John Colby's theme music was used solely for that season. That year, [[Joe Gibbs]] joined ''NFL Live!'' as an analyst, staying on through the 1997 season. In 1994 and [[1995 NFL season|1995]], NBC ran an hour-long edition of the pre-game show before Week 1.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/26-06-1049.pdf|title=A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 4|last=Brulia|first=Tim|website=Pro Football Researchers}}</ref> Ditka left the program after the [[1996 NFL season|1996 season]].

===''The NFL on NBC'' (1995–1997)===
During NBC's last three years as the broadcast television home of the [[American Football Conference]] (from the [[1995 NFL season|1995]] to 1997 seasons), the pregame show was simply titled '''''The NFL on NBC'''''.<ref>{{YouTube|title=NBC NFL Pregame Show (NFL Live), 1996|id=grL72pzuKJU}}</ref> The theme music<ref>{{cite web|title=1995-1997 ''NFL on NBC'' Theme|url=http://www.ilovewavs.com/TV/Sports/TV%20Theme%20-%20NBC,%20NFL.wav|work=ILoveWavs.com}}</ref> by [[Randy Edelman]] was used for both the pregame show and the network's game coverage.

In [[1995 NFL season|1995]], [[Joe Montana]] joined the program as an analyst, but left after just one season. Montana was subsequently replaced by [[Cris Collinsworth]], who stayed on through the [[1997 NFL season|1997 season]]. As previously mentioned, Mike Ditka left NBC following the [[1996 NFL season|1996 season]] to become the head coach of the [[New Orleans Saints]] and was replaced by [[Sam Wyche]].

===''Football Night in America'' (2006–present)===
{{Main|Football Night in America}}
After NBC won the rights to the ''[[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday Night Football]]'' package from [[ESPN Sunday Night Football|ESPN]], effective with the [[2006 NFL season|2006]] season,<ref>{{cite news|title=ESPN gets 'MNF' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/2005-04-18-nbc-abc_x.htm|author=Michael Hiestand|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|date=April 19, 2005}}</ref> the network launched the 80-minute pre-game '''''[[Football Night in America]]''''', the only prime time pre-game show on a major broadcast network. The program was initially hosted by Bob Costas.

==On-air staff==
{{main|List of NFL on NBC pregame show panelists}}

==See also==
*''[[The NFL Today]]''
*''[[Fox NFL Sunday]]''
*''[[Sunday NFL Countdown]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://sportsmediajournal.com/2008/12/23/why-arent-all-nfl-studio-shows-this-good/ Why Aren’t All NFL Studio Shows This Good?]

{{NFL on NBC}}
{{Football Night in America}}
{{National Football League on television and radio}}
{{Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show}}
{{The NFL on NBC pregame show}}

{{Commons category|The NFL on NBC pregame show}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nfl On Nbc Pregame Show}}
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