• Multichannel News, Wednesday, April 2, 2008 11:30 AM

While NBC will kick off next years' NFL coverage with the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, followed by Indianapolis Colts, ESPN will start its Monday Night Football coverage with a doubleheader of intra-division match-ups.

The NFL will open the 2008 season with a Thursday night home game for the Super Bowl winners, with a game against the Washington Redskins. But because of the Republican National Convention that night, NBC will start the game at 7 p.m. Eastern -- about 90 minutes before Sen. John McCain is expected to make his acceptance speech. Then, NBC's first Sunday night game on Sept. 7 will be a rematch of Super Bowl XLI, pitting the Chicago Bears against the Colts.

ESPN goes the following night with a twin bill featuring the Green Bay packers against the Minnesota Vikings, followed by Denver at visit the Oakland. In 2007, ESPN's Monday Night Football opener pulled an 8.6 average rating, with 8.29 million households and 11.1 million viewers. The balance of the NFL schedule -- starting early this year as Labor Day falls on Sept. 1 -- is set to be announced later this month.

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