The Jacksonville Jaguars and WTLV Channel 12 have signed a three-year contract as broadcast partners, continuing WTLV's status as the "Official Television Station of the Jacksonville Jaguars."
WTLV will continue to broadcast all locally produced Jaguars programming, including Jaguars preseason games, "Monday Night Live," Tom Coughlin's weekly "Beyond the Concentration Line" coaches show, and at least nine Jaguars specials throughout the year.
A new program for 1998, 1999 and 2000 will be a pre-game show previewing each upcoming game, airing the day of each game.
"We've had a great partnership with WTLV-12 since the inception of our franchise," said Wayne Weaver, Jaguars chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We look forward to continuing that relationship with Ken Tonning and his staff for the next three years of Jaguars football."
WTLV president and general manager Ken Tonning called the renewed partnership "a tremendous show of confidence for our affiliate," considering that NBC will no longer broadcast NFL football.
"We couldn't be happier and I couldn't be prouder of our people," said Tonning. "Our entire staff deserves tremendous credit - their hard work, dedication and enthusiasm have all paid off. The 'official station' status is a coveted relationship in all NFL cities, and Jacksonville is no exception. We look forward to another three years of a successful partnership with the Jaguars."
Jaguars senior vice president of marketing Dan Connell said, "We entertained offers from other stations in the market, but the logic behind our decision to pick TV-12 as our partner three years ago holds true today. It's just a good fit. TV-12 has a firm understanding of our needs as well as the creative energy and desire to do what it takes to make things happen."
WTLV is part of Gannett Broadcasting, Inc. Gannett is a nationwide news and information company that publishes 88 daily newspapers, including "USA Today," the nation's largest-selling daily newspaper. The company owns and operates 20 television stations and cable television systems in major U.S. markets.
