FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 16th, 2016

NBC SPORTS SURROUNDS “THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” WITH COMPREHENSIVE SOCI@L MEDIA & MARKETING PLAN

NBCUniversal Holds GIF #TNFHandoff Relay Beginning Today

World-Renowned Chef and New Orleans Saints Super Fan Emeril Lagasse to Live Tweet TNF

Custom TNF Snapchat Filters Available Tomorrow in Select Locations

Features and Segments from NBCUniversal Properties Include: TODAY, CNBC, MSNBC, The Weather Channel, Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and More

Thursday Night Football Begins Tomorrow on NBC; Coverage Starts at 7:30 p.m. ET

STAMFORD, Conn. – November 16, 2016 – The only network with two primetime NFL packages, NBC debuts Thursday Night Football tomorrow, Thursday, November 17, when Cam Newton and the NFC Champion Carolina Panthers host Drew Brees and the division rival New Orleans Saints. Coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. ET with Football Night in Carolina on NBC.

NBC Sports Group is surrounding the kickoff of Thursday Night Football with a comprehensive social media and marketing plan, including around-the-clock content across all of NBC Sports’ social media accounts.

NBCU GIF #TNFHANDOFF: Following the success of the #NBCUTorchRelay leading into the Rio Olympics, NBC Sports is once again enlisting the networks of NBCUniversal to participate in a GIF relay using the hashtag #TNFHandoff. Beginning today on Twitter with @NBCSports (available here), a football emoji will be incorporated into GIFs posted on social media accounts from networks and shows including NBC Sports, NBC Entertainment and local NBC stations including Charlotte and New Orleans. A new post from a different network will be shared throughout Wednesday and Thursday, culminating with the emoji football being “passed” to @SNFonNBC at 7 p.m. ET.

#TNF CELEBRITY TWITTER AMBASSADORS: To help celebrate TNF on NBC and NFL Network, a different celebrity Twitter ambassador will live-tweet the game each week. World-renowned chef and New Orleans Saints super fan Emeril Lagasse will be live-tweeting tomorrow during NBC’s first TNF game from his handle, @Emeril. Lagasse is the chef/proprietor of 13 restaurants, and as a national TV personality, has hosted more than 2,000 shows on the Food Network.

SNAPCHAT FILTERS: NBC Sports has created custom TNF Snapchat filters that will be available tomorrow at NBCUniversal and NFL business locations throughout the country, including 30 Rockefeller Plaza and the TODAY show studios in New York City, the Universal Lot in Universal City, Calif., CNBC headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., TELEMUNDO headquarters in Miami, Fla., and NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn. NBCUniversal talent and NFL fans will be able to use the custom filters on their Snaps as excitement builds leading up to the game.

In addition, fans that see the Sunday Night Football bus on the road and at the stadium for TNF games will have the ability to unlock special filters by scanning a Snapcode located on the bus. Each location that the Sunday Night Football bus travels to during the week of the game will unlock a different filter, which are exclusive to fans who swipe the bus’ Snapcode.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA:

SNF ON FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/SNFonNBC – At more than 3 million LIKES, the Sunday Night Football Facebook page provides news, custom graphics, animations and videos exclusively behind-the-scenes at TNF and SNF every week. The page will feature regular Facebook Live Q&As with Football Night and Thursday Night Football talent. The Facebook page also aggregates all TNF-related content found within the NBC Sports digital network, including NBCSports.com, ProFootballTalk.com, and Rotoworld.com.

SNF ON TWITTER: Using tweets, photos, Vines and videos, @SNFonNBC provides unique content with TNF talent, production crew and NFL players. Fans on Twitter can use #TNF to follow all of the conversation around Thursday’s match ups on NBC and NFLN.

SNF ON INSTAGRAM: The Sunday Night Football Instagram page will give TNF fans a look at behind-the-scenes content from on the road, on the SNF Bus and on the Football Night set. Fans get a look inside the production trucks, the locker rooms, on the field and around each TNF city. Fans will get an exclusive look through Instagram of what life is like on the sideline, as our social media producer captures posts in real time the best photos each Thursday night.

NBC SPORTS ON SNAPCHAT: NBC Sports’ Snapchat account will be creating content on the platform at each Thursday night game, taking fans to player interviews and around cities where Thursday Night Football comes to town, in the production trucks and around the stadiums, utilizing lenses and filters to customize content specifically for the Snapchat audience.

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NBCUniversal will surround its coverage of Thursday Night Football with a diverse collection of assets participating in NBC Sports’ ‘Big Event Strategy,’ including sports, news and entertainment properties.

TODAY: Tomorrow morning, TODAY will hold a TNF pep rally on the TODAY Show Plaza complete with prizes, and the weather in Charlotte, N.C., the location of TNF tomorrow, will be featured.

TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON: The show has been featuring TNF related content throughout the week.

WEATHER CHANNEL: The Weather Channel’s AMHQ will update viewers on the conditions in Charlotte, N.C., tomorrow morning ahead of TNF kickoff.

MSNBC: Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough and co-host Mika Brzezinski will discuss the TNF matchup during the program tomorrow.

CNBC: CNBC will feature TNF-related content throughout the day tomorrow.

TELEMUNDO: Titulares y Mas will feature TNF props during the show and promote the debut of TNF on NBC.

GOLF CHANNEL: Morning Drive talent will wear NFL team jerseys during the program each Thursday, and will include a segment on athletes from that week’s TNF teams that now play golf, or golfers who are fans of that week’s TNF teams.

DAN PATRICK SHOW:  Dan Patrick and the ‘Danettes’ will discuss this week’s TNF game tomorrow on the Dan Patrick Show.

UNIVERSAL THEME PARKS: Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando will help promote NBC Sports Groups’ coverage of TNF with in-park promotions and by featuring an NBC Sports-produced video on City Walk’s big outdoor screen along with kickoff signage on print billboards throughout the theme parks. NBC Sports Brew and Grill in Orlando will also host weekly TNF watch parties.

NBC AFFILIATES & NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS: TNF promotions will air throughout the week on NBC Affiliates and NBC Sports Regional Networks across the country.

NBC SPORTS RADIO: NBC Sports Radio surrounds TNF games with daily coverage across more than 418 radio affiliates, highlighted by Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison and Dan Schwartzman; featuring three-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison; Going Deep with Amani and Dan, featuring former Giants WR and Super Bowl Champion Amani Toomer; and Pro Football Talk Live, simulcast on NBCSN, featuring NFL insider and Football Night In America commentator Mike Florio.

In addition, NBC Sports’ comprehensive Thursday Night Football marketing campaign includes unprecedented customized content produced in conjunction with NBC Entertainment, as well as Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Click here for more information.

NBC-produced Thursday Night Football game schedule:

Date Game Network
Thurs. Nov. 17 New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers NBC, NFLN **
Thurs. Dec. 1 Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings NBC, NFLN **
Thurs. Dec. 8 Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs NBC, NFLN **
Thurs. Dec. 15 Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks NBC, NFLN **
Sat., Dec. 17 Miami Dolphins at New York Jets NFLN
Thurs. Dec. 22 New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles NBC, NFLN **
Sun., Dec. 25 Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers NFLN

** Live streamed on Twitter, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app

For more information about NBC Sports Group shows and properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–