New Jersey Senate passes Steve Sabol Day resolution

The New Jersey Senate approved today a resolution honoring Steve Sabol, sponsored by Senators Diane Allen and Dawn Marie Addiego, both R-Burlington.

“Steve Sabol is one of New Jersey’s most innovative entrepreneurs and his creativity has revolutionized both sports and documentary cinematography around the world,” Allen said. “He has made Mount Laurel the home of America’s favorite sport, having created a model business employing hundreds of people and boasting the world’s largest sports film library. He showed us the passion of the game — and made it our passion, too.”

“With ingenuity and grace, Steve Sabol has humanized America’s favorite sport bringing people inside the hearts and minds of their football heroes,” added Addiego. “Continuing Steve Sabol’s passion, NFL Films will continue to make Burlington County proud, as it chronicles the season of Super Bowl XLVIII.”

On Feb. 7, Senators Allen and Addiego introduced their resolution to make October 2 Steve Sabol Day in New Jersey.

OVER 20 MILLION FANS WATCH & FOLLOW THE 2013 NFL DRAFT ON NFL NETWORK, NFL.COM, & NFL MOBILE PROPERTIES

Over seven million viewers watched 2013 NFL Draft coverage on NFL Network

Fueled by 126% increase to NFL Mobile properties, coverage on NFL Digital platforms drew over 13 million fans

NFL Network’s coverage of the 78^th annual NFL Draft resulted in record rating and viewership numbers for the network. NFL Network drew a record total of 7.1 million viewers over the three days (based on a 6-minute qualifier) of the 2013 NFL Draft, a 17% increase over 2012 (6.07 million) and the 5^th consecutive year that NFL Network has increased its total Draft audience.

Over the course of the three days of the draft, NFL Network averaged nearly a million viewers (930k), an increase of 23% over 2012. NFL Network’s viewership numbers were highlighted by Thursday’s coverage of Round 1 which averaged over 1.5 million viewers.

On the digital front, audience to NFL Digital Media’s draft coverage grew to over 13 million unique viewers, a 31% increase over 2012. The digital growth was driven in large part by traffic to NFL Mobile properties, which increased 126% versus last year.

With a record-high 47 hours of live coverage of the three-day event, an extensive talent roster of analysts, reporters and college coaches, and a record number of draft war room cameras providing behind-the-scenes access, NFL Network, NFL.com and NFL Mobile properties provided coverage of the 2013 NFL Draft live from Radio City Music Hall.

(Source: Nielsen Media Research)

23 current & former NFL players to participate in new “NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp” May 13-16

Four-day program for current & former players includes “final exam” covering Toledo Mud Hens baseball game

Twenty three current and former NFL players — including 12-year NFL veteran CHARLIE BATCH, 2012 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee TROY BROWN, and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner ERIC CROUCH — will take part in the first-ever NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp from May 13-16 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. With the new longer offseason, the boot camp is one of a record 10 training programs for post-NFL careers that NFL Player Engagement offers to current and former players.

The four-day program will focus on improving each player’s writing skills for newspapers, radio, and the expanding digital media industry. A field exercise at a Toledo Mud Hens home game will include a mock press conference as part of the player’s game coverage.  Players will write and record their own radio commentary as part of one of the other planned exercises.

Faculty for the boot camp will include ED BOUCHETTE (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), PETER KING (Sports Illustrated, NBC), and BARRY WILNER (Associated Press) as well as former NFL players-turned-journalists SOLOMON WILCOTS (CBS, NFL Network), MATT BOWEN (Chicago Tribune), MATT CHATHAM (Boston Herald), and BUCKY BROOKS (NFL.com and NFL Network).

The boot camp is hosted by the BGSU School of Media and Communications and the Sport Management program and was developed with NFL Player Engagement, under the auspices of the Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project.
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20 million watch Round 1 of 2013 NFL Draft; First Round most-watched show on cable

NFL Network & NFL Digital Properties Set Records 

First-round coverage of the 2013 NFL Draft on ESPN and NFL Network drew a combined total viewership of 20.0 million viewers*, according to The Nielsen Company (*based on at least six minutes of viewing).

The combined ESPN/NFLN average of 7.7 million viewers:

• Nearly doubled the viewership of the next most-watched show of the day on cable (Swamp People on History Channel, 4.0 million);
• Drew five million more viewers than the day’s next most-watched sporting event (Clippers-Grizzles on TNT, 2.6 million);
• Ranks as the third-most-watched first round ever behind 2010 (8.3 million viewers) and 2012 (8.1 million viewers).

NFL Network’s first-round coverage drew a record average of 1.5 million viewers – a seven percent increase over last year’s previous record (1.4 million viewers).

The NFL’s digital media platforms — including NFL.com, NFL Mobile From Verizon and other NFL mobile products — set a record with its first-round draft coverage as unique visitors jumped 35 percent compared to last year (and 101 percent increase over 2011).

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Commissioner Goodell visits “Live with Kelly and Michael” — Transcript

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared this morning on “Live with Kelly and Michael.”

The Commissioner engaged in a lively conversation with the dynamic duo of Kelly Ripa and former New York Giants’ legend Michael Strahan about the new Heads Up Football program, the Super Bowl and the Draft.

Goodell presented them with personalized #1 New York Giants jerseys. Ripa and Strahan even moved into to get their Draft Day hugs from Goodell.

Following is a transcript of the Commissioner’s appearance:
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Overview of NFL Network & NFL.com’s 2013 NFL Draft Coverage

NFL Network Provides Record-Setting Coverage of the 2013 NFL Draft

47 Live Hours of Coverage Beginning Thursday, April 25 in Addition to Round-the-Clock Coverage on NFL.com & NFL Mobile 

Behind-the-Scenes Access with 15 War Room Cams at Team Facilities – Including Kansas City & Jacksonville

College Coaches Brian Kelly, Les Miles, David Shaw & Kevin Sumlin Join Live Draft Coverage from Radio City Music Hall

NFL Network’s coverage of the 78th annual NFL Draft is officially on the clock. With a record-high 47 hours of live coverage of the three-day event, an extensive talent roster of analysts, reporters and college coaches, and a record number of draft war room cameras providing behind-the-scenes access, NFL Network – along with NFL.com and NFL Mobile – will descend upon Radio City Music Hall in New York City for its eighth year of NFL Draft coverage.

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Transcript: NFL Network’s 2013 NFL Draft Conference Call with Mike Mayock — Thursday, April 18

Please click on the link below to view the transcript of NFL Network’s 2013 NFL Draft conference call with analyst Mike Mayock:

2013 NFL Draft Conference Call Transcript

2013 NFL Schedule Announced Thursday, April 18 at 8:00 PM ET on NFL Network & NFL.com

Three-Hour ‘Schedule Release ‘13’ Show Breaks Down 2013 NFL Schedule

Broncos LB Von Miller & Ravens WR Torrey Smith In-Studio on ‘The Perfect Schedule ‘13’ Wednesday, April 17 at 9:00 PM ET

The 2013 NFL schedule will be released on NFL Network and NFL.com Thursday, April 18 at 8:00 PM ET on Schedule Release ’13. Hosted by Andrew Siciliano and featuring analysts Willie McGinest, Heath Evans, Shaun O’Hara and Brian Baldinger, the three-hour special breaks down the entire 2013 regular season schedule, division by division, analyzing the top matchups and primetime games.

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2013 NFL Draft Attendees Announced on NFL Network Wednesday, April 10 at 6:00 PM ET

List of Prospects Attending the Draft in New York City Revealed on ‘Path to the Draft’

The list of NFL prospects attending the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City will be revealed on NFL Network’s Path to the Draft Wednesday, April 10 at 6:00 PM ET. Host Paul Burmeister along with analysts Charles Davis, Charley Casserly and Ted Sundquist will make the announcement.

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