Panasonic Joins the NBC Sunday Night Football Team

Panasonic Joins the NBC Sunday Night Football Team

First Commercial Installation of World's Largest 103" Plasma Display To Set the Backdrop for NBC's New 'Football Night in America' Show

SECAUCUS, N.J., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic, the market and technology leader in Plasma displays, today announced that it is supplying NBC Universal with two 103" full high definition professional plasma displays (TH-103PF9UK) to be integrated into the set of NBC's "Football Night in America" studio show, premiering Sunday, September 10 at 7 p.m. ET. The Panasonic TH-103PF9UK, which recently made its worldwide debut, is the world's largest plasma television available. NBC Universal is the first commercial customer to purchase the 103" plasma display.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060831/NYTH072 )

With industry leading 16-bit color reproduction, the super-size TH-103PF9UK provides stunning widescreen progressive display featuring full HD pixel resolution of 1,920 horizontal x 1,080 vertical, a contrast ratio of 5,000:1, and 4,096 equivalent steps of color gradation, delivering clear, crisp and impactful fast action video images. This 1080p display's screen resolution, which amounts to about 2 million pixels, equals twice the resolution of high-definition televisions that are commonly available today and boasts an effective display area of approximately 89" wide by 50" high, which is equivalent in size to four 50" Panasonic plasma displays.

The 103" plasma displays will be located on each side of the on-air talent desk on the newly-constructed set at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York and will be an integral part of NBC's "Football Night in America" studio. In addition, four Panasonic 50" TH-50PH9UK high definition plasma displays will team with the 103" plasma in the studio to offer pristine, stunning visuals of the season's game action.

"We're very excited to join forces with NBC Universal as the nation's weekly marquee football game shifts to Sunday night. These super-size high definition displays will allow NBC to present viewers with an even more in-depth understanding of the sport's fast-paced action," said John Baisley, President of Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems Company. "'Football Night in America' provides a terrific showcase for our 103" plasma. We have received tremendous interest from organizations nationwide who would like to make this stunning display the ultimate centerpiece of their facility."

"'Football Night in America' will be the essential destination show for NFL fans, providing the first complete look at all of the NFL highlights and stories of the day. These amazing 103" hi-def screens will add a fabulous visual element to the game action and storyline breakdowns that we'll be bringing to our viewers each week," said David Neal, Executive Producer, NBC Sports and Executive Producer, "Football Night in America."

"NBC Sunday Night Football," the premier primetime game of the week, will be preceded by the "Football Night in America" studio show, which kicks off NBC's regular season coverage each Sunday at 7 p.m. NBC's unprecedented six-year NFL deal includes innovative flexible scheduling, and continues through the 2011 season with Super Bowls in 2009 and 2012. Following the completion of the deal, NBC assembled the most honored broadcast team ever. Joining Al Michaels, the commentator called "TV's best play-by-play announcer" by the Associated Press, and John Madden, the most honored NFL broadcaster of all time with 15 Emmy Awards, are: Bob Costas, the most honored studio host of all time with 19 Emmy Awards, who will host NBC's "Football Night in America" studio show alongside co-host Cris Collinsworth, the most honored studio analyst in history with six Emmy Awards; and analysts Sterling Sharpe, a five-time Pro Bowler and Jerome Bettis, one of the most popular players in recent NFL history. "NBC Sunday Night Football" coverage also includes sideline and feature reporter Andrea Kremer, whom the Los Angeles Times has called "the best TV interviewer in the business of covering the NFL." Peter King, who covers the NFL for Sports Illustrated and is considered one of the country's foremost NFL reporters, will serve as a reporter for the "Football Night in America" studio show. Both "Football Night in America" and "NBC Sunday Night Football" will be broadcast in high definition.

The TH-103PF9UK is designed to produce breathtaking-quality images and features a Super Cinema Mode and new image-enhancing technologies to reproduce crisp, film-like motion images in native 1920 x 1080 progressive resolution. Its new Real Black Creation color-enhancing feature produces high-contrast and rich, deep blacks resulting in an impressively high contrast level (5000:1). Included in its outstanding features are a Contrast Management system that optimizes the contrast for each individual portion of the image displayed and a high-precision Motion Pattern Noise Reduction circuit that adjusts the image to optimize picture quality by detecting motion patterns that generate noise.

The TH-103PF9UK can display 1080/60p/50p, 1080/60i/50i/24p/24sF/25p/30p, 1080/50i, 720/60p/50p 480/60i/p, and 575/50i/p video signals. As the largest member of Panasonic's high-performing professional plasma display family, the TH-103PF9UK features three interchangeable, multi-function slots (in the back panel) which allow users to add and update their panel with different combinations of optional terminal boards for a variety of applications. The 103" plasma display comes standard with the TY-FB9DD DVI board (compatible with UXGA input), TY-42TM6A analog component board, an integrated D-sub15 PC input, and an integrated D-sub9 RS232C interface. Optional plug-in boards assure expanded connectivity, including HD-SDI and DVI, as well as a variety of advanced functionality including monitor control, networking, running of internal applications and data storage, and remote signal playback.

The 103" plasma display will be available in November 2006 at a suggested list price of $69,999.95. Panasonic Broadcast is accepting orders for the TH-103PF9UK and users can call 1-800-528-8601 to receive additional information.

With industry-leading technologies and the most versatile application options, Panasonic professional plasmas offer seamless integration in virtually any AV, IT or interactive environment. Panasonic offers the industry's widest range of pro plasma sizes, with 37", 42", 50", 65" and 103" models that incorporate a highly-flexible plug-in based architecture to provide a wide range of connectivity and control options including an on-board PC for supplying both graphics and video content. For more information on Panasonic's entire line-up of professional plasma displays, visit our web site at www.panasonic.com/proplasma.

About Panasonic

Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America markets a broad line of digital and other electronics products for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE:MC) of Japan, and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Information about Panasonic and its products is available at www.panasonic.com. Additional company information for journalists is available at http://www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060831/NYTH072
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN4
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Panasonic

CONTACT: Jeff Samuels, Panasonic, +1-201-392-4571,
samuelsj@us.panasonic.com; Stacy Moore, Panasonic Broadcast, +1-201-392-4458,
moorest@us.panasonic.com; Alana Russo, NBC Universal, +1-212-664-6772,
alana.russo@nbcuni.com

Web site: http://www.panasonic.com/
http://www.panasonic.com/proplasma

-------
Profile: intent