ESPN's Berman, Jackson bring back 'NFL PrimeTime' for one night

ESPN's Chris Berman says many TV viewers -- and the football world -- miss his old NFL PrimeTime highlights show with his on-air partner of 25 years Tom Jackson.

For one night anyway, they'll get one of their favorite football shows back, says Berman. He and Jackson return Christmas Eve with a one-time edition of NFL PrimeTime on ESPN2 (8 p.m. ET). The show re-airs at 1 a.m. ET and again on Christmas Day. The 10 p.m. replay on the West Coast is the same as the old show.

The original NFL PrimeTime ran from 1987-2005 and was one of the highest rated studio shows in cable TV history. ESPN had to drop it when NBC bought the NFL's Sunday night game package and launched its own pregame show: Football Night in America now co-hosted by former ESPNer Dan Patrick.

Berman and Jackson have been doing The Blitz, a bare-bones version of their old PrimeTime, on ESPN's Sunday night SportsCenter. But it's not the same. Especially to Berman who talks about PrimeTime like an old flame.

"I'm really looking forward to it. We really look it as a gift to football fans. I think there is a void. That's not a comment on anything else. It's a fact."

To Berman, there's nothing quite like PrimeTime on current TV: two guys talking football with unlimited highlights of Sunday's games. He's asked every week by viewers why ESPN doesn't air their favorite show any more.

"I tell people: it remains my favorite show in my 32 years here. Just me, Tommy and football."

Of course, the old PrimeTime thrived in different media environment. When it first came on, there was no Internet, no DVR's, no NFL Network, and all the other outlets now pumping out non-stop game highlights. The show was one of the only places fans could get highlights of games shown outside their home TV markets.

Berman, who doesn't play fantasy football, also rode the wave of exploding fan interest in fantasy.

"I understand that times have changed. The world isn't the same. But the beauty of this show is if it's a 3rd-and-3 to win the game in the mud, we'll show you the 4-yard run. That doesn't make it everywhere else, you know? That's what PrimeTime shows you. We've got the 80-yard passes. You'll see that all day. But here's the 3rd-and-3 that won the game."

Berman may be pining for his lost love but there's little chance of PrimeTime coming back regularly. ESPN just renewed its Monday Night Football package. Ditto for NBC and Sunday Night Football. So Saturday's show looks like a one-and-done created by a quirk of TV scheduling.

Before he hangs it up, Berman would like to see ESPN, not sister Disney network ABC, get an NFL playoff game or Super Bowl. Even though he admits there's plenty out there who say, "Good, we never want to see Chris Berman do a Super Bowl."

The NFL has never shown a post-season game on basic pay cable, says league spokesman Dan Masonson. All post-season games have aired on free broadcast TV network such as ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.

Says Berman: "For my network's sake, I'd (love it). We would do a wonderful job on the playoffs or the Super Bowl. I feel bad for the ones on the line doing the games every week, that when the season ends, that's the end of it...But if this is the toughest blow we've been dealt, we can deal with it, trust me."