FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 28th, 2015

NBC SPORTS PARTNERS WITH AFFILIATED AND OWNED STATIONS TO PRESENT “SUPER BOWL ZONE” ON SATURDAY, JAN. 31 AT 7:30 P.M. ET/PT, 6:30 P.M. CT/MT

Tony Dungy Interviews Seahawks LB and Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith; Rodney Harrison Interviews Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski

Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski Visit Wild West Theme Park

Carolyn Manno Provides Look Inside F-16 Flyover

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jan. 28, 2015 – NBC Sports has partnered with nearly 150 NBC affiliated and owned stations to present “Super Bowl Zone,” a 30-minute program previewing Super Bowl XLIX on Saturday, Jan. 31.  The program, which will be produced by NBC Sports and feature affiliate hosts, will air at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT, 6:30 p.m. CT/MT.

Dovetailing off of NBC Olympics’ “Olympic Zone,” which airs prior to NBC’s primetime Olympic coverage, “Super Bowl Zone” will set the stage for NBC’s presentation of Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, Feb. 1. Coverage begins at Noon ET.

“Super Bowl Zone” will be co-hosted by NBC Sports commentators Carolyn Manno and Kathryn Tappen. The program will feature an interview between Football Night In America analyst Tony Dungy and Seahawks LB and Super Bowl XLVIII MVP Malcolm Smith, as well as a feature with FNIA commentator Rodney Harrison and Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski.

 

Following are segments that will be featured in Saturday’s episode of “Super Bowl Zone”:

 

  • NBC Sports’ popular figure skating analysts Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski will visit Rawhide Western Town, an 1880s Wild West theme park in Phoenix, for an authentic Old West experience;
  • Carolyn Manno will bring viewers inside the cockpit of an F-16 for a first-hand look at the traditional Super Bowl pre-game flyover;
  • Kathryn Tappen visits SuperFoos2015, a unique life-sized foosball rink in downtown Phoenix that allows people to participate as foosball players.

 

“Super Bowl Zone” will lead into NBC’s Saturday night primetime lineup, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT with a special edition of Saturday Night Live, “Saturday Night Live Presents A SNL Sports Spectacular.” Saturday Night Live will be followed by NBC’s presentation of the 4th Annual NFL Honors at 9 p.m. ET/PT, hosted by Seth Meyers, host of Late Night with Seth Meyers. Awards that will be announced include the prestigious Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award and the AP Most Valuable Player award.

NBC’s coverage of Super Bowl XLIX begins at Noon ET on Sunday, Feb. 1 with the six-hour Super Bowl XLIX Pre-Game Show, surrounding the Super Bowl with live reports, in-depth features and interviews with players and coaches from the Seahawks and Patriots, and X’s and O’s analysis from its roster of expert commentators.

 

–SUPER BOWL XLIX–