“BROADWAY JOE” To Launch Series on April 20
New York, NY (April 9, 2001) – METRO, will take viewers on a trip through New York sports history when it debuts METRO SPORTS LEGENDS, a 12-part original production series about the most influential people, places and moments in sports history that took place here in the New York area.
“BROADWAY JOE,” focusing on the impact Joe Namath had on New York on-and-off the field after joining the Jets following his collegiate career at Alabama, will be the first one-hour documentary in the series, premiering on Friday night, April 20 at 7 & 9 PM (repeated several times during the month), the eve of the NFL Draft.
Four one-hour specials will air each year on METRO. Fran Healy will be the host and narrator of the series. Still to come this year will be documentaries profiling the famed restauranteur, TOOTS SCHOR in July, LADY MAGIC, “The Story of NANCY LIEBERMAN-CLINE” in September and “POWER MEMORIAL-The LEGEND of LEW ALCINDOR and SCHOOL BOY BASKETBALL” airing in November.
“Each documentary is a story which holds a unique place in the hearts and minds of metropolitan residents,” said Michael Lardner, Executive Producer of METRO Sports. “These stories document the tremendous historical impact that athletes, teams and personalities have had on the mindset of New York area sports fans. What we’ll try to do in a small way is to recapture the essence that made these individuals part of the fabric of New York sports history.”
“BROADWAY JOE” will feature interviews with the famed quarterback, whose guarantee of victory on the eve of Super Bowl III stunned the sports world and changed the face of pro football, forcing the merger between the AFL and NFL. Teammates Emerson Boozer, Matt Snell and Dave Herman are among the subjects interviewed for the documentary. The piece explores the celebrity status that Namath attained in New York starting with the record-signing bonus he was given by Jets owner Sonny Werblin out of the University of Alabama, the opening of his Bachelor III restaurant and how he became the first “darling boy” sports celebrity of Madison Avenue.
Rainbow Media’s MetroChannels are the first and only suite of television networks devoted entirely to the experience of living in the New York metropolitan area. MetroChannels consist of METRO, Metro Learning, and Metro Traffic&Weather. METRO showcases what New Yorkers are passionate about by providing regularly scheduled original programs focusing on everything from live music and sports to classic New York TV series and documentaries about the people, places and history of New York. MetroLearning provides unfiltered coverage of events unfolding in the many diverse communities throughout this metropolis. Metro Traffic&Weather is the tri-state’s first and only 24-hour local traffic, transit, and weather channel. Since its 1998 launch, MetroChannels has received numerous accolades for its programming — the 1999 & 2000 Community Spirit Award, New York Festivals Awards, Omni Awards and the Communicator Awards. In addition, MetroChannels was among the top 10 networks nominated for the 1999 and 2000 local New York Emmy Awards.
MetroChannels is owned and managed by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. A subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) and NBC, Rainbow has been at the forefront of innovation in programming for more than 20 years. Rainbow also manages American Movie Classics, We: Women’s Entertainment, Bravo, The Independent Film Channel, MuchMusic USA, Rainbow Sports and News 12 Networks as well as the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. In addition, Rainbow is a fifty-percent partner in FOX Sports Net.
Contact:
Lisa Rogen
MetroChannels
212-324-8552
Tom Cosentino
O’Leary & Cosentino PR
732-970-0399