FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

DREW BREES LOOKS TO BREAK JOHNNY UNITAS’ RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A TOUCHDOWN PASS, ON SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET Sunday Night Football Extra to Live Stream Chargers-Saints on NBCSports.com NFL Turning Point Airs Tomorrow at 10 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network and Features Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton Pro Football Talk Weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network Featuring Mike Florio

NEW YORK – October 2, 2012 – Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers (3-1) travel to New Orleans to take on Drew Brees and the Saints (0-4) on Sunday Night Football. Coverage begins Sunday with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET.

All eyes will be on Brees, as the Saints quarterback attempts to break one of the NFL’s most historic marks. With a touchdown pass against the Chargers, his former team, Brees will break Johnny Unitas’ record of 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass.

Calling Chargers-Saints is six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 27th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 13-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who has won the Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst in each of his three seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, who, last year in her first season with SNF, won the inaugural Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Reporter.

Football Night in America is hosted by 23-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas, who will report from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La. Costas will be joined on site by Michaels, Collinsworth and Hines Ward, the former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Super Bowl MVP and newest addition to NBC Sports’ NFL team.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC’s Studio 8G at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Sunday night. Patrick is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Peter King of Sports Illustrated, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network and NBCSports.com. Carolyn Manno will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on the Broncos-Patriots game.

PREVIEW VIDEO:

Michaels and Collinsworth on Chargers vs. Saints

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/49235615#49235615

Patrick, Dungy and Harrison on Chargers vs. Saints:

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/49235267#49235267

In addition to the weekly Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America broadcasts, NBC Sports Group’s NFL coverage also includes digital content and social media extensions that are available online, as well as NFL-related shoulder programming available on NBC Sports Network.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL EXTRA

SNF EXTRA: For the fifth consecutive season, the entire Sunday Night Football schedule is streamed live on NBCSports.com. The video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcast of SNF, and will include additional camera angles and interactive features.

Sunday Night Football Extra employs a full HD-quality player, which includes a draggable picture-in-picture feature for any of the online-only cameras, plus full DVR functionality allowing the user to pause, scroll back-and-forth, and review plays in slo-motion.

SNF Extra includes expert analysis, including fantasy tips from Rotoworld fantasy experts as well as in-game chats and analysis from Mike Florio. Additionally SNF Extra employs online-only in-game analysis from the Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America teams.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ALL-ACCESS. ALL SEASON LONG: For the third straight season, NBCSports.com is providing a destination for fans dedicated to behind-the-scenes content of Sunday Night Football. SNF All-Access includesexclusive photos of the Sunday Night Football production, look-ins on SNF production meetings, Michele Tafoya interviews with key NFL players and a weekly notebook and conversations with SNF talent.

Visit SNF All-Access at:http://snfallaccess.nbcsports.com/

“THE SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”: This season NBC Sports introduced “The Sunday Night Football”, a custom made football from Wilson, which travels with the SNF crew all season long. Fans of SNF on Facebook and Twitter can keep up with “The Sunday Night Football” on the SNF Facebook page, follow its path through each city and recommend where it should visit while in town. At the end of each SNF game, “The Sunday Night Football” is signed by the player(s) of the game. Photos, video and stories around “The Sunday Night Football” and its travels live on Facebook, Twitter and SNFAllAccess.com all season long.

Week

Player Game Date

1

Peyton Manning Steelers at Broncos Sun., Sept. 9

2

Alex Smith, Michael Crabtree, Justin Smith Lions at 49ers Sun., Sept. 16

3

Joe Flacco, Torrey Smith, Ray Rice Patriots at Ravens Sun., Sept 23

4

Michael Vick, LeSean Mccoy Giants at Eagles Sun., Sept 30

SNF ON FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/SNFonNBCThe Sunday Night Football Facebook page provides links, photos and videos exclusive to behind-the-scenes at SNF every week. The page aggregates all SNF-related content found within the NBC Sports digital network, including NBCSports.com, SNF Extra, ProFootballTalk.com, and Rotoworld.com.

SNF ON TWITTER: twitter.com/SNFonNBCFor the first time ever, Michele Tafoya will be doing live video tweets from@SNFonNBC on the sideline exclusively for the SNF social media platforms, providing fans extended real-time content from Michele’s unique sideline perspective. Using tweets, twitpics and twitvids @SNFonNBC provides unique content with SNF talent, production crew and NFL players.

Each week @SNFonNBC will promote a guest player who will live tweet during the Sunday Night Football broadcast. On Sunday, October 7, former Chargers & Saints FB Lorenzo Neal, @LorenzoNeal will be the guest player. The tweets from the guest player will automatically be pulled into the SNF Extra Player.

SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Going into its second season, Sunday Night Football gives the SNF fan a look at photos through the filters of Instagram. Fans get a look inside the production trucks, the locker rooms, on the field and around the city. Fans also have the opportunity to submit photos through Instagram using #SNF that will automatically be curated into a special Instagram tab on the Sunday Night Football Facebook page.

SNF ON GETGLUE: For the second season in a row, fans can check into each SNF game onGetGlue. Fans watching Sunday Night Football at home have the opportunity to win weekly SNF themed stickers and chances at real-world prizes by checking into SNF on GetGlue every Sunday night.

NFL TURNING POINT WEDNESDAY NIGHTS,

10 P.M. ET ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK

Emmy-nominated NFL Turning Point, NBC Sports Network’s weekly NFL show co-produced by NFL Films, airs this Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET. This week’s episode features: anin-depth analysis ofthe SaintsPackers matchup, including in-game audio from Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers; Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, and a close look at the fourth quarter of the Panthers-Falcons game;and a look at how key fourth quarter play calling allowed the Eagles to beat the Giants on Sunday night. In addition, Football Night In America’s Rodney Harrison and Tony Dungy will breakdown the keys to this Sunday’s Chargers-Saints game.

Hosted by Football Night In America’s Dan Patrick, the hour-long program will air throughout the entire NFL season, including the playoffs and Super Bowl.

Each week NFL Turning Point will be built around select NFL match-ups from the previous weekend, and will focus on the crucial “turning point” moments that ultimately defined the outcome of each game. The show will feature anatomy-of-a-play type segments and long form, Game-of-the-Week style narratives that include the pre-game and post-game access, sideline sounds, jaw-dropping cinematography and incredible storytelling that is synonymous with NFL Films.

PRO FOOTBALL TALK ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK

WEEKNIGHTS, 5 P.M. ET

Mike Florio, who created the innovative, NFL-focused web destination ProFootballTalk.com, hosts the new NBC Sports Network television program Pro Football Talk. The one-hour show airs weeknights at 5 p.m. ET every Monday through Friday. Pro Football Talk is co-hosted by Erik Kuselias.

Pro Football Talk features concentrated NFL insight from Florio and other experts from around the league. Florio and Kuselias will regularly welcome a roster of NBC Sports football commentators, including Rodney Harrison, Hines Ward, Doug Flutie, Ross Tucker, Amani Toomer, and Peter King, among others. In addition to deep diving on the most topical NFL stories of the day, Pro Football Talk will also touch on injuries, fantasy football and officiating.

Click here for more details about Pro Football Talk: http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/sports

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS NO. 1 PRIMETIME SHOW OF PREMIER WEEK

SNF NO. 1 PRIMETIME PROGRAM OF PREMIERE WEEK: In the first week of the official primetime television season, Sunday Night Football was the No. 1 show among viewers, households and all key adult and male demographics. Additionally, it was the No. 4 show among women 18-34 and No. 5 among women 18-49. This marks the fourth straight weekly win for among viewers, households and all the key adult and male demos.

BEST FIRST FOUR WEEKS IN SNF HISTORY: NBC’s five-game average viewership of 23.3 million is best start in the seven-year history of Sunday Night Football, and the most-watched start to a season for a primetime package in 16 years (24.0 million for ABC in 1996).

The four-week average household rating of 14.2/23 for five games is also the best start in the seven-year history of Sunday Night Football, and the best start to a season for a primetime package in 13 years (14.6/25 in 1999 on ABC).

GIANTS-EAGLES OWN THE NIGHT: Sunday’s game on NBC, in which the Eagles defeated the Giants, 19-17, drew 22.8 million viewers – the first time in NBC’s seven-year Sunday Night Football history that each of the first five games has topped 21 million viewers

The Giants-Eagles Sunday Night Football broadcast easily won the night facing original network programs. NBC led the night among viewers 2+ in primetime with 18.8 million viewers (7:30-11 p.m. ET) topping the 12.3 million for second-place Fox (which was boosted by an NFL overrun) by 54%. NBC also beat CBS (10.5 million) by 80% and ABC (8.5 million) by 121%.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL METRICS

According to SocialGuide.com, Sunday Night Football was the No. 1 show on Twitter on Sunday with more than 322 thousand unique users, and more than 824 thousand tweets. SNF owned nearly 17% of the conversation (Cable and Broadcast).

2012 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBC will broadcast 19 primetime NFL games during the 2012 season, highlighted by: the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants hosting their division rivals the Dallas Cowboys on NFL Kickoff 2012; storied rivalries such as Steelers-Ravens, Eagles-Cowboys, and Giants-Eagles; two games featuring Peyton Manning with his new team the Denver Broncos – hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on the first SNF game of the season, and the New Orleans Saints in Week 8; and NBC’s first Thanksgiving night game, featuring New England Patriots at the New York Jets.

2012 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL REMAINING SCHEDULE

Sun. Oct. 7 Week 5 San Diego Chargers at New Orleans Saints

Sun. Oct. 14 Week 6 Green Bay Packers at Houston Texans

Sun. Oct. 21 Week 7 Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

Sun. Oct. 28 Week 8 New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos

Sun. Nov. 4 Week 9 Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons

Sun. Nov. 11 Week 10 Houston Texans at Chicago Bears

Sun. Nov. 18 *Week 11 Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Thurs. Nov. 22 *Week 12 New England Patriots at New York Jets

Sun. Nov. 25 **Week 12 Green Bay Packers at New York Giants

Sun. Dec. 2 *Week 13 Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

Sun. Dec. 9 *Week 14 Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers

Sun. Dec. 16 *Week 15 San Francisco 49ers at New England Patriots

Sun. Dec. 23 *Week 16 San Diego Chargers at New York Jets

Sun. Dec. 30 *Week 17 TBA

*Flex Week

**Thanksgiving Night Game

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