'Friday Night Football' Debuts on Comcast SportsNet

'Friday Night Football' Debuts on Comcast SportsNet

First Live High School Football Telecast Features Novato vs. Foothill on September 8

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast SportsNet West's first-ever season of high school football game coverage debuts on September 8, 2006 at 7:30 PM with a live "Friday Night Football" telecast featuring 2005 NCS 2A Champion Novato High School vs. perennial East Bay powerhouse Foothill High School in Pleasanton.

The weekly "Friday Night Football" schedule of 10 live telecasts on Comcast SportsNet will showcase prominent high school football programs throughout Northern and Central California, and will be supplemented by approximately 20 additional games produced and televised on Comcast Local Origination channels. Those games will air on Comcast SportsNet on Sunday and Wednesday nights on tape delay, and many of the telecasts will also be available via Comcast's On-Demand platform, which is free to Comcast Digital customers.

"We are thrilled to bring these outstanding match-ups to our viewers," said Comcast SportsNet Executive Producer Richard Zinn. "High school football is such a great fit for us. The excitement of prep sports is the perfect way for Comcast SportsNet to provide compelling, community-based regional programming."

Many of the top prep teams in Northern and Central California will make appearances on Comcast SportsNet's schedule this season. These include prominent Bay Area teams: De La Salle, Monte Vista, Valley Christian, Pittsburg, and Cardinal Newman, as well as a number of league champions and traditionally strong teams from the Sacramento, Stockton and Fresno areas.

Among the highlights of CSN's "Friday Night Football" lineup of live telecasts include an early intersectional game featuring Sacramento's Grant High School at 2005 Central Coast Section Champion Valley Christian in San Jose; Div I and Div II Sac-Joaquin Sectional Champs Nevada Union (Grass Valley) at Del Oro (Loomis); '05 San Francisco Champion Lincoln vs. arch-rival Balboa High School, Clovis East vs. Clovis in a Fresno backyard brawl and nationally renowned De La Salle (Concord) vs. Monte Vista (Danville) in a battle of Bay Area titans.

Veteran play-by-play man Jim Kozimor will handle the call for many of Comcast SportsNet's "Friday Night Football" telecasts, with Cal Hall of Fame quarterback Mike Pawlawski providing expert analysis. Tasha Trujillo, a reporter-anchor for KRON-TV's nationally syndicated "Latin Eyes" and the 2004 Miss San Francisco Bay Area, will work the sidelines.

Following is CSN's tentative telecast schedule for Weeks 1-4 of the 2006 season:

Fri., Sept. 8 Novato at Foothill (Pleasanton) 7:30 PM
Sun., Sept. 10 Valley Christian at Pittsburg (Pittsburg) 6:30 PM
Wed., Sept. 13 Cent. Catholic at Card. Newman (Santa Rosa) 6:30 PM
Fri., Sept. 15 Grant at Valley Christian (San Jose) 7:30 PM
Sun., Sept. 17 Franklin (Elk Grove) at Lincoln (Stockton) 6:30 PM
Wed., Sept. 20 Bethel at Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) 6:30 PM
Fri., Sept. 22 Nevada Union at Del Oro (Loomis) 7:30 PM
Sun., Sept. 24 De La Salle at Palma (Salinas) 6:30 PM
Wed., Sept. 27 James Logan at Card. Newman (Santa Rosa) 6:30 PM
Fri., Sept. 29 Lincoln at Balboa (San Francisco) 7:30 PM
Sun., Oct. 1 Jesuit at Cordova (Rancho Cordova) 6:30 PM
Wed. Oct. 4 Alhambra at Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) 6:30 PM

SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE; BOLD INDICATES LIVE TELECASTS

Comcast SportsNet currently consists of regional sports networks serving the Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Chicago, and Northern and Central California television markets. In addition, Comcast SportsNet manages SportsNet New York, The Mtn, and CSS. Together, the networks reach approximately 27 million households providing local sports coverage, including live game action for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, and Chicago Blackhawks; the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and Sacramento Kings; and MLB's Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and New York Mets.

Source: Comcast

CONTACT: Karen Mason of Comcast, +1-916-515-2688

Web site: http://www.comcast.com/

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