The NFL has selected Adobe Flash technology to deliver live online video streaming of NBC Sunday Night Football games on NFL.com and NBCSports.com. For the first time, full-length NFL games will be widely available in the U.S. over the Internet. Named Sunday Night Football Extra, the high-quality streaming video delivered with Adobe Flash technology will enable fans to watch the games free within a rich, immersive environment that will include interactive extras such as alternative camera angles, picture-in-picture technology, in-game highlights, live statistics, and interactivity with network talent via a live blog.

Sunday Night Football Extra will debut with the season opener tonight between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. Throughout the 17-game, primetime season, NFL.com and NBCSports.com will deliver online video streams and feature the audio from the NBC Sunday Night Football team: Al Michaels (play-by-play), John Madden (analyst), and Andrea Kremer (sideline reporter).

“This is an exciting new way for fans to watch NFL games,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL vice president of digital media. “The online broadcast will provide a new level of interactivity, with fans getting to chose how they experience NFL games. Adobe’s Flash technology will deliver an immersive, interactive and high-quality product for NFL fans across the country.”

Flash Technology Helps Enable Instant-On, Seamless, High-Quality Experience

Adobe technology is playing a key role in developing Sunday Night Football Extra and making it reliably accessible and highly entertaining for fans. The online broadcasts will use Adobe Flash technology for video delivery and playback. Fans will use the free Adobe Flash Player software to view the games, helping the NFL and NBC to reach the largest possible Internet audience and deploy online video across all major platforms and browsers. Adobe Flash Player — already installed on 98 percent of Internet-connected desktops — will enable fans to access NFL games on the Web without having to download additional software.

Flash Media Server Supports High Volume of Fans Online

Adobe Flash Media Server software will be the video streaming engine behind the games, enabling fans to view high-quality live video on the Web. With the robust content delivery network that supports Adobe Flash Media Server, NFL and NBC will be able to easily handle the large number of fans interacting with Sunday Night Football Extra. To let fans interact with each game while viewing a wealth of content that would not be accessible with television alone, NFL, NBC, and Adobe developers collaborated to create an interactive video experience using the Adobe Flex® authoring environment, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, and Adobe Photoshop® CS3 software.

“It’s gratifying to be able to enhance the Sunday Night Football television viewing experience and help NBC and NFL engage with fans in new ways via Adobe Flash technology,” said Jim Guerard, vice president and general manager of Dynamic Media at Adobe. “We expect these games are going to be some of the largest live streaming events ever, with fans accessing an exciting web experience that will quickly become a must-see destination as the new NFL season unfolds.”