"Working with Steve was a great experience at the beginning of my career, and I'm ecstatic to join with him for this exciting new venture," said Eisen. "Being a huge football fan, the chance to work for the NFL and do a show combining sports and entertainment, is truly a dream come true."

Rich Eisen will host the NFL Network's flagship program. NFL Network will be carried initially on DIRECTV's basic service that is seen in more than 11.4 million homes. NFL Network will air seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and will be the first television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football.

NFL Films, High Definition programming, Video-On-Demand (VOD) services and other cutting-edge enhanced TV applications will be a part of NFL Network.

Prior to joining ESPN, Eisen served as a sports anchor and reporter at KRCR-TV (1994-96) in Redding, Calif. He also worked in television as the Medill News Service's Washington correspondent (1994) and later that year as a production assistant for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and Connie Chung.

Eisen began his career as a staff writer for the Staten Island Advance (1990-93) and as a stringer covering Chicago high school football and basketball for the Chicago Tribune (1993-94).

The 34-year-old graduated from the University of Michigan in 1990 with a BA degree in communications and from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1994 with a masters degree in broadcast journalism.