Panthers TV adds new features

Carolina Panthers television programming this fall will feature preseason television games in high definition for the first time as well as the return of the popular Panthers Huddle weekly show at a new time in the Charlotte market.

Announcing the preseason games will be former Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker as the color analyst and veteran play-by-play commentator Mike Morgan. Rucker spent his entire nine-year NFL career with Carolina before retiring after the 2007 season. Morgan joins the telecasts after working with the University of South Carolina basketball and baseball broadcasts.

The Panthers will have a local three-game preseason package since the opener will be televised nationally by ESPN. All three games will be broadcast in high definition for the first time and will be televised in the Charlotte market on FOX Charlotte/WCCB-TV.

"We are pleased for our fans that we will be telecasting state of the art HD for the first time this season," said Carolina Panthers Director of Broadcasting and New Media Henry Thomas. "They have been most supportive of all of our programming over the years."

FOX Charlotte/WCCB-TV will also carry six half-hour specials throughout the year and 20 Panthers Huddle shows with head coach John Fox. The Panthers Huddle will air Sundays at 11:30 a.m. leading into the FOX network's NFL coverage.

Panthers Gameday, the team's postgame highlight show, will again be on NewsChannel 36/WCNC-TV in the Charlotte area immediately following NBC Sunday Night Football and the late news.

Panthers preseason games and television programming can be seen in 12 markets throughout the Carolinas and into Tennessee and Virginia.