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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 29th, 2012

MIKE FLORIO TO HOST “PRO FOOTBALL TALK” ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK; DEBUTS SEPTEMBER 4

NEW YORK – August 29, 2012 – Mike Florio, who created the innovative, NFL-focused web destination ProFootballTalk.com and initially partnered with NBCSports.com in 2009, will extend the PFT brand to another NBC Sports Group platform when he hosts a daily weekday television program on NBC Sports Network beginning Tuesday, Sept. 4. The one-hour Pro Football Talk will air at 5 p.m. ET, every Monday through Friday, and will be co-hosted by Erik Kuselias, the host of NBC SportsTalk.

Pro Football Talk will feature concentrated NFL insight from Florio, who the New York Times said is “a leading source of information.” Florio and Kuselias will regularly welcome a roster of NBC Sports football commentators, including Rodney Harrison, Hines Ward, Doug Flutie, Ross Tucker, Amani Toomer, and Peter King, among others. In addition to deep diving on the most topical NFL stories of the day, Pro Football Talk will also touch on injuries, fantasy football and officiating.

“When we started the website, the goal was to create a place I’d want to visit as a football fan. That same objective applies to Pro Football Talk,” said Florio. “We wanted to make a show that I would spend time watching if I wasn’t involved in it. Of course, some may say they’d be more likely to watch this show if I actually wasn’t involved in it.”

Soon after entering into a mutually beneficial partnership with NBCSports.com in July 2009, Florio began contributing to NBC Sports’ television coverage. In addition to Pro Football Talk, he can be found on Football Night in America, on the Sunday Night Football post-game show, breaking down the NFL’s top stories of the day with Bob Costas, and on Notre Dame Football halftime segments.

“This was a natural decision for us since Mike is the consummate NFL insider and is familiar to our viewers from his work on Football Night in America, Sunday Night Football, NBC SportsTalk, Notre Dame halftime segments, NBCSports.com as well as his ultra-popular website,” said Jon Miller, President, Programming, NBC Sports & NBC Sports Network. “We look forward to him bringing his wealth of NFL information to NBC Sports Network viewers every weekday.”

In addition to Mike Florio’s expanded television presence, NBC Sports Digital has extended its ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com agreement. ProFootballTalk.com, one of the web’s most trafficked, NFL-focused destinations, first joined forces with NBCSports.com in July 2009. Since that time, ProFootballTalk has become the keystone of “NBC Sports Talk,” the sport-specific news sections on NBCSports.com as well as the popular NBC Sports Talk app, which services mobile and tablet users. Florio will continue to host PFT Live, his daily web show on NBCSports.com.

Where Mike Florio will appear this football season on NBC Sports Group platforms:

MORE ON MIKE FLORIO

Generally regarded as the best and most popular, independent NFL news and information site, ProFootballTalk.com consists of 40-60 daily “News and Rumors” items written largely by Florio dealing with the issues surrounding NFL players, coaches, owners and general managers. PFT’s innovative coverage summarizes news from around the NFL but it is Florio’s opinionated, provocative and often humorous accounts drawn from a wide network of NFL sources that are the driving force of the site’s popularity. Sports Illustrated writes that Florio “has turned profootballtalk.com into a must read for news and rumor.”

ProFootballTalk.com, which was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Best Websites, has an unusual background and an unlikely career path for its founder. After earning two engineering degrees from Carnegie Mellon and later graduating from the West Virginia University School of Law, Florio founded PFT in 2001 and operates the site from his home office in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and anywhere else that he can get an Internet connection.

Well respected in NFL circles, the New York Times called Florio, “A leading source of information,” while Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer says of him, “He’s tireless. He’s been our watchdog.” And Sunday Night Football play-by-play voice Al Michaels told the Los Angeles Times that Florio is, “As wired into the NFL as anyone.”