The Rolling Stones to perform during Sprint Super Bowl XL Halftime Show on ABC

[musicradio77]

NEW YORK (Nov. 29, 2005) -- The Super Bowl just got even bigger. Taking a quick break from their “A Bigger Bang” World Tour, the legendary Rolling Stones will perform in the Sprint Super Bowl XL Halftime Show on ABC at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Feb. 5, the NFL announced today.

Watched by more than 133 million viewers in the U.S. last year, the Super Bowl is annually the nation’s highest-rated TV program. The game will be broadcast to a potential worldwide audience of 1 billion in more than 225 countries and territories. Game time is 6 p.m. ET.

"We are thrilled to perform for millions of fans at one of the most exciting and highly anticipated sporting events of the year," said the Rolling Stones.

“We are excited to welcome one of the greatest rock n’ roll bands in history to the Super Bowl,” said Steve Bornstein, the NFL’s executive vice president of media and president and CEO of NFL Network. “As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Super Bowl this season, it is fitting we work with The Rolling Stones whose music has thrilled audiences around the world for years.”

Sprint [NYSE: S], which became an NFL sponsor this season, is the title sponsor of the halftime show for the first time in the company's history. Sprint revolutionized the way NFL fans get their information when it launched NFL Mobile in October giving fans exclusive access to NFL content and original programming. NFL Mobile programming includes an all-NFL-all-the-time television channel -- NFL Network; exclusive video- and audio-on-demand highlights from NFL Films; and up-to-the-minute team/player scores, stats and injury. Sprint also delivers Emmy Award-winning content via Sprint TV and offers full-track, over-the-air downloads of thousands of songs via the Sprint Music Store.

"Sprint's sponsorship of the Super Bowl XL Halftime show highlights our commitment to fans of the NFL and the Rolling Stones," said Steve Gaffney, Sprint’s director of sports marketing. "We're looking forward to providing fans the opportunity to participate in the halftime show like never before."

Earlier today the Rolling Stones announced their European summer tour kicking off May 27, 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang European Tour will play more than 30 concerts in more than 20 countries bringing their incomparable live stage performance to the most famous stadiums and venues across the globe from the UK to The Czech Republic. Continuing to set the bar for live modern rock concerts with an electrifying stage presence, the demand for Europe's hottest ticket of 2006 is certain to be as feverish as that in North America. Recently, the Rolling Stones released Rarities: 1971-2003, a collection of remixes, exotic B-sides and hard-to-find live recordings from the band's archives, co-released by Starbucks Hear Music and Virgin Records. In addition, the band has made available a limited edition of their critically acclaimed current album 'A Bigger Bang (Special Edition),' with greatly expanded audio and video content.

Emmy Award-winning Don Mischer Productions returns as the halftime show producer, following a successful halftime show last year in Jacksonville featuring Paul McCartney. This year’s Super Bowl marks the third time Don Mischer, who serves as the show’s executive producer and director, has worked with the NFL. Mischer also produced Super Bowl XXVII halftime show with Radio City Music Hall Productions in 1993 featuring Michael Jackson. Among the company’s vast and celebrated productions are the opening and closing ceremonies for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, eight Emmy Award shows, the Kennedy Center Honors and the 2004 Democratic National Convention.