FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 26th, 2019

TOM BRADY, DREW BREES, MATT RYAN & DESHAUN WATSON HIGHLIGHT THANKSGIVING WEEK NFL MATCHUPS ON NBC

Two Games Feature Three First-Place Teams

Falcons Host Saints in NFC South Showdown in Sunday Night Football “Thanksgiving Special;” Coverage Begins Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC

Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy & Rodney Harrison Shift from Studio to Booth to Call Falcons-Saints

Zac Brown Band to Headline Thanksgiving Special Show Open

Brady and Patriots Visit Watson and Texans in Battle of AFC Division Leaders on NBC’s Sunday Night Football

Leading Up to the Games on Thursday and Sunday, Fans Can Play NBC Sports’ New ”Sunday Night 7” Free-to-Play Game Featuring $2 Million in Guaranteed Cash Prizes

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 26, 2019 – NBC Sports’ Thanksgiving week NFL coverage begins this Thursday with a special primetime matchup in Atlanta, as Matt Ryan and the Falcons host Drew Brees and the NFC South-leading Saints at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage continues with Sunday Night Football on Dec. 1, as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots visit Deshaun Watson and the Texans at Houston’s NRG Stadium in a battle between two AFC division leaders. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America, followed by SNF at 8:20 p.m. ET.

This week’s action, which features three first-place teams (Houston, New England, and New Orleans), ties the mark for the most combined wins (29) by the four teams competing on NBC in primetime during Thanksgiving week (NBC began airing the Thanksgiving night game in 2012).

The Saints (9-2) enter Week 13 in first place in the NFC South following a 34-31 win over Carolina. Brees passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns, while kicker Wil Lutz converted the game-winning, 33-yard field goal as time expired. Saints WR Michael Thomas, who had 10 receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown last week, leads the league in receptions (104) and receiving yards (1,242) this season, and is on pace to surpass Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (143 in 2002) for the most catches in a single season in NFL history.

Atlanta (3-8) has won two of its past three games, including a 26-9 victory over the Saints in New Orleans on Nov. 10, highlighted by two Matt Ryan touchdown passes and 2.5 sacks from DT Grady Jarrett. Ryan has 49,654 career passing yards and earlier this season, surpassed Hall of Famer Warren Moon (49,325) for the 10th-most passing yards in NFL history.

On Thanksgiving night, Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Tony Dungy (analyst) and Rodney Harrison (analyst) will shift from the Football Night in America studio into the broadcast booth to call Falcons-Saints. Three-time Emmy Award-winning reporter Michele Tafoya will report from the sidelines in Atlanta, and will award the traditional postgame turkey legs and game balls. Three-time Super Bowl referee and SNF rules analyst Terry McAulay joins Tirico, Dungy and Harrison in the booth.

Atlanta-based multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band will headline NBC Sports’ show open for the Sunday Night Football “Thanksgiving Special.” Gathered in Atlanta around a Thanksgiving table with all the trimmings, the special show open begins with Zac Brown receiving a text from Carrie Underwood, the star of NBC’s Sunday Night Football show open, who has the holiday off.

Brady and the Patriots moved to 10-1 with last week’s 13-9 victory over Dallas and are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the best record in the NFL. Brady has 60 career wins in the month of December, the most in NFL history. New England’s defense is off to a historic start through 11 games, leading the league in points allowed per game (10.6) and turnover differential (+19), while ranking second in total yards allowed per game (248.0). The Patriots, who have allowed nine touchdowns this season, could approach the record for fewest defensive touchdowns allowed in a 16-game season. The mark is held by the 1985 Chicago Bears and 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who allowed 16 touchdowns each, and both went on to win the Super Bowl.

The Texans (7-4) defeated division-rival Indianapolis, 20-17, last week to take a one-game lead in the AFC South. Watson is one of three quarterbacks in the NFL this season with 2,850+ passing yards (2,899) and a 100+ passer rating (103.4), while WR DeAndre Hopkins ranks second in the league with 81 receptions.

Calling Packers-49ers is Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 34th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth; and Tafoya. SNF rules analyst McAulay joins Michaels and Collinsworth in the booth.

Tirico will host Football Night in America alongside Dungy, Harrison, NFL Insider Mike Florio and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms. Liam McHugh will co-host Football Night in America on-site from NRG Stadium.

NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff. FNIA begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, and is produced by Rob Hyland and directed by Mike Sheehan.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AVERAGING A TOTAL AUDIENCE DELIVERY OF 20.6 MILLION VIEWERS – THE HIGHEST 12-WEEK AVERAGE FOR THE SERIES SINCE 2015

San Francisco’s 37-8 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night – despite the biggest Week 12 NBC Sunday Night blowout ever and largest SNF halftime differential (23 points) in over three years – averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 21.3 million viewers, ranking as the best SNF Week 12 viewership since 2015 (Denver-New England).

Through 12 weeks (13 games), NBC’s SNF is averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 20.6 million viewers – the highest 12-week average for the series since 2015, and up 4% from the same point last season.

NBC SPORTS’ “SUNDAY NIGHT 7” FREE-TO-PLAY GAME FEATURES $2 MILLION GUARANTEED PRIZES

Leading up to this week’s Sunday Night Football game, fans can participate in NBC Sports’ new free-to-play game, Sunday Night 7, which features $2 million in guaranteed cash prizes over the course of the regular season and NBC NFL playoff games ($100,000 in guaranteed prizes for each contest). Sunday Night 7 is available for download NOW on the NBC Sports Predictor app (available for download in the App Store and Google Play Store) and at NBCSports.com/Predictor.

Last week, one fan scored 65 out of a possible 70 points in Sunday Night 7, winning the grand prize of $50,000.

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES:

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC NFL games to desktops, tablets, mobile devices and connected TVs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s broadcasts. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, PlayStation and Xbox.

PETER KING’S NFL COLUMN “FOOTBALL MORNING IN AMERICA” DEBUTS EVERY MONDAY EXCLUSIVELY ON NBCSPORTS.COM

A new “Football Morning in America” will post every Monday morning exclusively on NBCSports.com. King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group last year that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com, making regular appearances on NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Florio, and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.

CHRIS SIMMS UNBUTTONED

NBC Sports’ Chris Simms examines everything happening in the NFL and around the sports world. Along with a rotation of NBC Sports hosts including Ahmed Fareed, Paul Burmeister and Liam McHugh, Chris Simms Unbuttoned analyses the NFL with in-depth Xs and Os breakdowns; one-on-one interviews with players, coaches and executives; and game recaps and preview.

ROTOWORLD

Rotoworld offers comprehensive fantasy football coverage throughout the 2019 NFL season across NBC Sports’ platforms. The all-new 2019 Rotoworld Fantasy Football Draft Guide, which includes mobile optimization, an updated website design, and improved tools, is now available for purchase on Rotoworld.com. In addition, Rotoworld experts dive into fan questions on “Rotoworld Live” every Sunday at Noon ET on the NBC Sports app and YouTube.com/NBCSports. Rotoworld also presents comprehensive fantasy content, including a panel of experts answering fans’ questions on Twitch three times a week, a Waiver Wire Q&A (Tuesdays), a DFS Q&A (Thursdays), and a Rankings Q&A (Fridays).

PFT LIVE – WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

Mike Florio and co-host Chris Simms bring fans the latest NFL news and interviews with players and coaches every weekday morning with PFT Live on NBCSN at 7 a.m. ET. Peter King will also contribute regularly to PFT Live’s coverage throughout the regular season.

The two-hour PFT Live provides all-encompassing coverage of the NFL, including the most current news and analysis, thought-provoking debates, and interviews with a wide variety of NFL newsmakers. The program is a simulcast of NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live national program that airs daily beginning at 6 a.m. ET.

PODCASTS

NBC Sports’ football podcasts provide extensive weekly offerings from NBC Sports’ most popular personalities and present special guests, exclusive interviews, and robust conversations across all of football on The Peter King Podcast, Chris Simms Unbuttoned, PFT PM, and Rotoworld Football. While The Peter King Podcast features intimate discussions with the NFL’s top players, Chris Simms Unbuttoned and PFT PM dive into deep conversations around the sports’ hottest topics, and Rotoworld Football explores fantasy implications for fans. For the first time this season, Rotoworld Football will debut four episodes per week, including a new Sunday night episode diving into the weekend’s results. In addition, The Mike Tirico Podcast will debut new episodes throughout the 2019 NFL season featuring exclusive interviews with the league’s top players and personalities. New episodes of NBC Sports podcasts are available for download each week on all major podcast platforms including: NBCSports.com/podcasts, NBC Sports’ Scores app, Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA

      • SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Going into its seventh season, Sunday Night Football gives the SNF fan a look at photos through the filters of Instagram. Fans get a look around each SNF city, as well as access inside the production trucks, the locker rooms, on the field, and on the sideline, as our social media producer captures the best photos of Sunday night and posts in real time. In addition, SNF on Instagram will utilize Instagram stories to maximize fans’ exposure to the Sunday Night Football
      • SNF ON TWITTER: Using tweets, photos, and videos, @SNFonNBC provides unique content with SNF talent, production crew and NFL players.
      • SNF ON SNAPCHAT: For the second season, NBC Sports’ Snapchat account will be creating content on the platform at each Sunday Night Football game, including Kickoff and from the SNF The NBC Sports Snapchat account will take fans behind the scenes to the FNIA set and around cities where Sunday Night Football comes to town, utilizing lenses and filters to customize content specifically for the Snapchat audience.
      • SNF ON FACEBOOK: – At nearly 3.7 million likes strong, the Sunday Night Football Facebook page provides social-first stories, photos and video every week.

NBC SPORTS RADIO

NBC Sports Radio, produced and distributed by Westwood One in partnership with NBC Sports Group, is carried by more than 300 affiliates nationwide. Programming is available on radio stations throughout the United States, as well as on NBCSportsRadio.com, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports Scores app, and on the websites of affiliates. Content includes hourly sports news updates, daily features, and is highlighted by PFT Live, featuring NFL insider and Football Night In America commentator Mike Florio daily from 6-9 a.m. ET; the PFT PM podcast hosted by Florio, which takes a look back at the day that was in the NFL; Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison and Dan Schwartzman; featuring three-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison; and The Daily Line, NBC Sports Radio’s daily sports talk and betting show that airs M-F 3-7 p.m. ET and features special guests and content for casual and avid sports fans. Fans can follow  @NBCSportsRadio to listen live or on demand, or visit www.NBCSportsRadio.com.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BUS RETURNS FOR 2019 NFL SEASON 

NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football bus returns this season to travel the country, visiting the host cities of each Sunday Night Football game. In addition, the SNF Bus will also visit markets along the route without an SNF game on the schedule to give more fans a chance to join in on the experience. The bus will arrive in each host city two to three days prior to the game, making stops at local landmarks and events before heading to the game site. Once at the stadium, the Sunday Night Football bus will give fans the opportunity to interact with America’s most-watched primetime television show with exclusive activities and experiences.

For the first time ever, fans will be able to record content on the bus to share directly to their social platforms, with new experiences including augmented reality mirrors in the locker room and a green screen booth to replicate the iconic player intros in the SNF broadcast.

In addition, fan favorites returning to the bus include the official Player of the Game Ball signed at the end of every SNF matchup, a replica Football Night in America desk, and a brand new On Her Turf photo experience celebrating the power of every football fan.

2019 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
**Thurs. Nov. 28 Week 13 New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
*Sun. Dec. 1 Week 13 New England Patriots at Houston Texans
*Sun. Dec. 8 Week 14 Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams
*Sun. Dec. 15 Week 15 Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Chargers
*Sun. Dec. 22 Week 16 Kansas City Chiefs at Chicago Bears
*Sun. Dec. 29 Week 17 TBD

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

 

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING: Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-17. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-16, the schedule lists the games tentatively set for Sunday Night Football on NBC. Only Sunday afternoon games are eligible to be moved to Sunday night, in which case the tentatively scheduled Sunday night game would be moved to an afternoon start time. Flexible scheduling will not be applied to games airing on Thursday or Monday nights.

A flexible scheduling move would be announced at least 12 days before the game. For Week 17, the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to December 29. The schedule does not list a Sunday night game in Week 17, but an afternoon game with playoff implications will be moved to that time slot. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks, and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into prime time.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL