EAGLES FLY INTO INDY FOR 'NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL' SHOWDOWN WITH MANNING & COLTS

NBC's Madden on Manning's unique understanding of the NFL: "I felt like I was talking to Don Shula or something."

NEW YORK � November 21, 2006 � Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (9-1) host the Philadelphia Eagles (5-5) on "NBC Sunday Night Football," Sunday at 8:15 p.m. ET, presented in high definition. NBC's coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. ET with the "Football Night in America" studio show, a complete recap of the top stories in the NFL, with highlights, analysis and reports from around the league.

Al Michaels (play-by-play), John Madden (analyst) and Andrea Kremer (sideline reporter) will call all the action. Bob Costas (host) and Cris Collinsworth (co-host), analysts Sterling Sharpe and Jerome "The Bus" Bettis, and reporter Peter King of Sports Illustrated, comprise the "Football Night in America" studio team.

The Colts started the season with nine straight wins to become the first team in NFL history to begin consecutive seasons at 9-0. The Eagles are one game behind the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants in the NFC East with games remaining against both clubs, including a Christmas Day matchup against the Cowboys on NBC.

READY FOR PRIMETIME PLAYERS:

The Colts have become the NFL's top primetime ratings draw, playing in the four highest-rated primetime games in the past five years: 1) Steelers-Colts, 14.8 rating on 11/28/05; 2) Colts-Giants, 14.3 on 9/10/06; 3) Colts-Patriots, 14.3 on 11/7/05; and 4) Colts-Patriots, 13.9 on 11/5/06.

MADDEN ON MANNING:

"I talked to Manning for over an hour at an event and I felt like I was talking to a half player, half coach. Half the time I was talking to Peyton Manning the player, the other half I felt like I was talking to Don Shula or something."

MADDEN ON WR MARVIN HARRISON:

"When you talk about the great wide receivers, I think you need to put him right at the top."

DYNAMIC DUO:

Manning and Harrison have combined for more catches and touchdown receptions than any quarterback-wide receiver tandem in NFL history.

ABOUT FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING:

The NFL this season is implementing for the first time in its history a primetime "flexible scheduling" element on Sundays in Weeks 10-15 and in Week 17 to ensure quality matchups with playoff implications in those weeks and give surprise teams a chance to play their way onto Sunday Night. The NFL will announce the flex game no later than 12 days prior, except for Week 17, which will be announced no later than six days before, to ensure that the final regular season Sunday Night game has playoff implications.

"NBC SNF" PACING 6% AHEAD OF "MNF" IN 2005:

Season to date, NBC Sunday Night Football is averaging 17.7 million viewers, up six percent from ABC's MNF through this same point last season (16.7 million).

"FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA" STUDIO

The "Football Night in America" studio, just down the hall from the famed Studio 8H, home of "Saturday Night Live," was built in the former studio home of first the Philco Television Playhouse (1948-1955) and later for game shows Concentration (1958-1973) and Jeopardy (1964-1975), and talk shows Donahue (1984-1996) and The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996-2002), and shares the "SNL" control room for the football season. The "Football Night" set was designed and built by Jeremy Conway, the former set designer for "Sex in the City." Two 103" high definition Panasonic plasma screen televisions � roughly the size of a queen-size mattress � are two of the set innovations.

"NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"

"NBC Sunday Night Football," the premier primetime game of the week, is preceded by the "Football Night in America" studio show, which kicks off NBC's regular season coverage each Sunday at 7 p.m. The unprecedented six-year NFL deal includes innovative flexible scheduling and continues through the 2011 season with Super Bowls in 2009 and 2012. NBC has 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, serves as a reporter for the "Football Night in America" studio show.

NBC'S REMAINING 2006 NFL SCHEDULE
(Sunday coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with "Football Night in America" studio show)
Sunday, Nov. 26 � Philadelphia at Indianapolis*
Sunday, Dec. 3 � Seattle at Denver*
*Flexible Scheduling Weeks 10-15
Monday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) � Philadelphia at Dallas
Flexible Scheduling Week 17