Monday Press Releases

A series of press releases have come into my inbox and it's time to clear them out now.

First, NBC is sad that Sunday Night Football is coming to an end as last night's Panthers-Giants game did well in the ratings.

PANTHERS-GIANTS CONTINUE STRONG RATINGS FOR SNF

No. 1 Program of the Week for Second Consecutive Week

NEW YORK - Dec. 22, 2008 – The Super Bowl champion New York Giants 34-28 overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers on "NBC Sunday Night Football" is the top rated primetime program of the week and led NBC to a Sunday night win for the second consecutive week according to data provided by Nielsen Media Research.

Last night's SNF game registered a metered market rating of 12.9 with a 21 share, a gain of 30 percent over the comparable game last season (Washington-Minnesota, 9.9/17 on 12-23-07).  The game peaked in the 11 pm ET half-hour at a 15.1/26.

The SNF game powered NBC to its second consecutive Sunday night win and based on these metered-market results and other preliminary data, "NBC Sunday Night Football" is likely to rank No. 1 among primetime programs for the week of December 15-21 among households, average viewers and other key ratings categories also for the second straight week.  Official results for the week are due from Nielsen Tuesday morning.

SNF CONTUNIES DOMINANCE ON NBC: Last week's Giants-Cowboys game on "NBC Sunday Night Football" drew 23.1 million viewers, the most viewers ever for a "Sunday Night Football" game and was the No.1 primetime program for the week and the No. 3 primetime program for the entire television season.  Additionally, SNF was the No. 1 series in the November sweeps period among Adults 18-49 and other key advertising demographics and NBC has won the night with SNF in 12 of 15 weeks this season in Adults 18-49.

Top Ten Metered Markets For Panthers-Giants:
1. Charlotte, 38.9/55
2. Greensboro, 27.0/39
3. New York, 19.6/29
4. Raleigh-Durham, 17.4/26
5. Greenville-Spartanburg, 17.3/25
6. Indianapolis, 17.1/26
7. Richmond, 17.0/26
8. Nashville, 15.9/23
9. Washington, D.C., 15.6/25
10. Las Vegas, 14.7/23

This Thursday, TNT has a Christmas Night doubleheader.

TNT NBA Thursday Gives Fans a Gift of Christmas Night Doubleheader

Holiday greetings from U.S. Marines will air throughout the evening

TNT NBA Thursday will feature a Christmas Night doubleheader on Thurs., December 25 filled with special holiday greetings from United States Marines who are serving on Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. The network’s coverage will also feature live shots of the base along with the TNT studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith answering questions sent to them from the Marines. In addition, TNT OverTime Extra, the network’s live coverage on NBA.com that features a mosaic of unique camera angles, will feature additional Marine holiday greetings in one of its four camera streams enabling fans to view hundreds of messages throughout the first game of the night.

Tipping off the network’s Christmas doubleheader will be LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers hosting Caron Butler and the Washington Wizards at 8 p.m. ET. Play-by-play announcer Marv Albert will be joined by Mike Fratello (analyst) and Craig Sager (sideline reporter) to call the game action. The second game of the doubleheader will pit Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks against Brandon Roy and the Portland Trail Blazers. Kevin Harlan will call the action alongside Reggie Miller (analyst) with Cheryl Miller reporting. The night will conclude with the Emmy® award-winning studio show Inside the NBA with Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst).

TNT’s exclusive Thursday night doubleheader coverage will return on Thurs., January 15 with the Cleveland Cavaliers @ Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets.

TNT NBA THURSDAY SCHEDULE:

8 p.m. NBA Tip-Off

Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst)

8:15 p.m. Washington Wizards @ Cleveland Cavaliers

Announcers: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Mike Fratello (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter)

10:30 p.m. Dallas Mavericks @ Portland Trail Blazers

Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and Cheryl Miller (reporter)

Post-game Inside the NBA

Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst)

TNT NBA THURSDAY UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Thu., January 15

8 p.m. NBA Tip-Off

Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst)

8:15 p.m. Cleveland Cavaliers @ Chicago Bulls

Announcers: Marv Albert (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst) and Craig Sager (reporter)

10:30 p.m. Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets

Announcers: Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Doug Collins (analyst) and Cheryl Miller (reporter)

Post-game Inside the NBA

Ernie Johnson (host), Charles Barkley (analyst) and Kenny Smith (analyst)

And NBA TV has a holiday TV special that airs on Tuesday.

NBA TV Celebrates the 2008 Holiday Season with a Special Featuring Musical Performances by Robin Thicke, Yung LA featuring T.I., Soulja Boy, Bobby Valentino and More

Hour-long special will air Tues., Dec. 23 exclusively on NBA TV

NBA TV will televise the “2008 NBA TV Holiday Special” on Tues., Dec. 23 at 11 p.m. ET featuring a review of the best NBA moments of the year. Hosted by TNT analyst Kenny “The Jet” Smith and NBA TV host Ahmad Rashad, the hour-long special will also include in-studio musical performances by some of today’s hottest performers including Robin Thicke, Yung LA featuring T.I., Soulja Boy, Bobby Valentino and DB, as well as 15-year-old Kayla Briana, daughter of Kenny Smith.

During the special, Smith and Rashad will highlight 10 of the most memorable NBA plays of the year and will be joined on the set by each artist who will perform in front of a live studio audience.

Robin Thicke, Yung LA and Soulja Boy appear courtesy of Interscope Records; T.I. appears courtesy of Atlantic Records; Bobby Valentino appears courtesy of Def Jam; DB and Kayla Briana appear courtesy of Jet Fuel Music, a new record label owned by Kenny Smith.

Finally, HBO will provide four consecutive nights of what it says are the best boxing bouts of 2008 over the Christmas holidays.

It’s a holiday treat for HBO Boxing fans. Over four consecutive nights, HBO Sports will present five of the year’s standout fights, showcasing the biggest names in the sport. Starting with a riveting doubleheader on Saturday, Dec. 27 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT that revisits Cotto vs. Margarito and Marquez vs. Pacquiao II, HBO Sports will replay five of the most memorable, most significant, most compelling bouts of 2008 that were broadcast on the HBO service.

The lineup includes:

Saturday, Dec. 27 at 11:00 p.m. -- Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito

& -- Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Manny Pacquiao II

Sunday, Dec. 28 at 11:00 p.m. -- Kelly Pavlik vs. Bernard Hopkins

Monday, Dec. 29 at 11:00 p.m. -- Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr.

Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 11:00 p.m. -- Oscar de la Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao

All times are ET/PT.

This series of “Boxing’s Best” will be available on the HBO ON DEMAND service.

That's it for now.