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Networks To Show Pats-Giants

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By IRA KAUFMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 27, 2007

TAMPA - Tampa Bay area football fans who lack access to the NFL Network received a belated Christmas gift Wednesday.

New England's quest for a perfect regular season prompted the league to expand its coverage Saturday evening with an unprecedented three-way national simulcast.

The Patriots (15-0) kick off against the Giants in the Meadowlands at 8:15 p.m. for a matchup that originally was slated to air only on NFL Network, which reaches approximately 35 million American households.

Noting the unique nature of the game, the league announced Wednesday that CBS and NBC also will carry the NFL Network feed of the Patriots-Giants matchup.

"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game."

Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth will work the broadcast, which will begin at 8 p.m.

Saturday night's game marks the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of any kind since the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC each televised Green Bay's 35-10 triumph against Kansas City.

The Patriots have locked up the AFC's No. 1 seed and have won 18 consecutive regular-season games. With 551 points, they are six points away from breaking the NFL's single-season mark for points scored, set by the 1998 Vikings.

The Giants (10-5) have secured the NFC's No. 5 seed and will travel to Tampa for the opening playoff round the weekend of Jan. 5-6.

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