A pre-game, pregame, or pre-match show is a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

presentation that occurs immediately before the live broadcast of a major

sporting event Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, t ...

. They typically feature previews and analysis relating to upcoming games (either a larger fixture, or a single game), including panel discussions, reports filed from the sites of the day's game, interviews with players and other personnel (such as coaches), and other feature segments. The networks that broadcast the NFL were the first networks to create and air pre-game shows. CBS was the first to broadcast a sports pre-game show in 1964, when the network launched a 15-minute regional sports program that interviewed players and coaches and featured news and features about the league. The show aired immediately before games on CBS. The show originated in studio and live from the fields, and featured broadcaster Jack Buck. In 1967, the show grew to 30 minutes in length and in 1976, aired a new 90-minute “Super Bowl Special” before Super Bowl X. The show moved to two hours long in 1984 and featured 11 broadcasters, 13 producers and four directors. FOX created its own pre-game show when it won the rights to broadcast NFC games in 1994. The network hired James Brown to host the show, ''

Fox NFL Sunday ''Fox NFL Sunday'' is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under t ...

'', and brought on analysts such as

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...

to lead the coverage. In 2006, Brown left the network to return to CBS and host their pre-game show, ''

The NFL Today ''The NFL Today'' is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ''NFL on CBS'' brand. The program features commentary on the latest ne ...

''. NBC launched its own version of a pre-game show – ''Grandstand'' – in 1975, and not only featured NFL programming, but other sporting events around the nation. The show led up to the NFL's 1 p.m. games but covered college football, golf, tennis and many other sports and topics. The network hired Jack Buck to host the show and the show didn't just preview that day's NFL games but did investigative pieces on a variety of topics. Pre-game shows generally run for 30 minutes to one hour, though on special occasions (such as championship games), it is not uncommon to air longer pre-game shows (with the Super Bowl now typically airing one across the entire afternoon prior to its evening kickoff). While most pre-game shows are done in a studio, some shows may broadcast from the site of a particular game, usually for marquee events or championship games. ESPN's ''College GameDay'' franchise (which it broadcasts for college football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

) regularly broadcasts live from the campuses of schools hosting the day's biggest game, and (most notably in its football version) is attended by an audience of fans that serve as a backdrop to the studio panel.Steward Mandel
Burning questions about BCS, a few candidates for Tennessee and more
SI.com, November 12, 2008, Accessed November 12, 2008.Michael Hiestand

''USA Today'', October 30, 2008, Accessed November 12, 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pre-Game Show Terminology used in multiple sports

See also

References