FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 7th, 2016

NBC SPORTS KICKS OFF NFL SEASON WITH PREMIER MATCHUPS ON NFL KICKOFF 2016 AND SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

BRONCOS HOST PANTHERS IN SUPER BOWL 50 REMATCH TOMORROW AT 8:30 P.M. ET ON NBC; PATRIOTS VISIT CARDINALS IN SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL OPENER ON NBC ON SEPTEMBER 11

 
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NBCSports.com & NBC Sports App To Live Stream NBC’s NFL Kickoff 2016 & Sunday Night Football

NBCSN Presents Two-Hour Pro Football Talk Weekdays at 7 a.m. ET; NFL Turning Point Begins Wednesday, September 14 at 9 p.m. ET

NBC’s Hairspray Live! Star Kristin Chenoweth to Perform National Anthem Prior to Patriots-Cardinals Sunday Night Football Showdown

NBC Debuts New Sunday Night Football Open Song – Carrie Underwood’s “Oh, Sunday Night” (New Photos Available)

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 7, 2016 – NBC Sports kicks off its coverage of the 2016 NFL season with a blockbuster weekend featuring all four teams from last season’s NFC and AFC Championship Games. It all begins tomorrow, September 8, on NBC, when Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller and the defending champion Denver Broncos play host to Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in NFL Kickoff 2016 in a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. Coverage begins with a special edition of Football Night In America – the most-watched weekly studio show in sports – at 7:30 p.m. ET. Three days later, NBC Sports opens its 11th season of Sunday Night Football on September 11, when Carson Palmer and the Arizona Cardinals face Jimmy Garrapolo and the New England Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Coverage starts with Football Night at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.

Coverage of the 2016 NFL regular season will include 24 live game presentations on NBC – the only network with two primetime NFL packages – highlighted by Sunday Night Football, the No. 1 show on primetime TV, and five Thursday Night Football games; Sunday pre-game coverage on NBC with Football Night in America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports;  live streaming of Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football for desktops, tablets and connected TVs on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app; weekday studio coverage on NBCSN with Pro Football Talk; weekly programming on NBCSN with Emmy Award-nominated NFL Turning Point; daily NFL-related radio programming on nearly 420 NBC Sports Radio affiliates across the United States; local team coverage on 10 NBC Sports Regional Networks; comprehensive fantasy football coverage through Rotoworld.com; and additional digital and social media content.

Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Michele Tafoya (sideline reporter) will call tomorrow night’s NFL Kickoff 2016 season opener featuring the Panthers and Broncos, as well as the Sunday Night Football opener between the Patriots and Cardinals.

Tomorrow night’s pre-game coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC with a special edition of Football Night In America, live from Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver. Bob Costas and Dan Patrick will host FNIA on-site, alongside Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and NBC Sports Radio. Pre-game coverage will also feature Mike Tirico’s interview with Cam Newton.

Dan Patrick will anchor FNIA on Sunday from NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., alongside Dungy, Harrison, and Florio. Costas and Tirico will host Sunday’s edition of FNIA on-site in Glendale, and Paul Burmeister will provide reports from Sunday’s Giants-Cowboys game in Dallas. NFL Insider Peter King will contribute stories and information throughout the season. Last week, NBC Sports announced the commentary teams for this season’s Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football broadcasts. Click here for more information.
NFL KICKOFF 2016 – PANTHERS-BRONCOS – COVERAGE BEGINS TOMORROW AT 7:30 P.M. ET WITH FNIA

The Broncos begin the defense of their Super Bowl 50 win tomorrow night at home with QB Trevor Siemian at the helm, following the retirement of Peyton Manning. Denver returns many of its offensive weapons, including WRs Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, and RB C.J. Anderson, as well as a defensive unit that allowed the NFL’s fewest yards per game in 2015. The Panthers success will run through Cam Newton, who won the league’s MVP award last season, amassing 45 total touchdowns. Denver’s defense was able to limit Newton to 265 passing yards and an interception in the Broncos’ 24-10 win in Super Bowl 50.

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL – PATRIOTS-CARDINALS – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET WITH FNIA

The Patriots and Cardinals look to build off of 2015 campaigns that concluded in losses in their respective conference championship games. Jimmy Garrapolo will start the year at quarterback for the Patriots, as Tom Brady serves a four-game suspension. Last year, Arizona QB Carson Palmer set career highs in touchdowns (35) and passing yards (4,671). The Cardinals won the most recent meeting between the two teams in 2012 by a score of 20-18 at Gillette Stadium.

 

NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM NBC’S NFL KICKOFF 2016 & SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will offer fans a free pass to live stream NBC’s presentation of Panthers-Broncos on NFL Kickoff 2016, allowing consumers streaming access to the game without being prompted to log in with their cable/satellite/telco credentials.  This offering will drive awareness to TV Everywhere on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, where authenticated pay-TV subscribers will be able to live stream all Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football games to desktops, tablets, and connected TVs throughout the season.

The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC’s SNF and TNF 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, and Xbox. (NOTE: NBC Sports does not have NFL live streaming rights to mobile devices.)

 

NFL TURNING POINT SEASON PREMIERE AIRS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14 AT 9 P.M. ET ON NBCSN

The sixth season of Emmy-nominated NFL Turning Point, NBCSN’s weekly show co-produced by NFL Films, will debut Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 9 p.m. ET, and will be hosted by Football Night in America’s Dan Patrick. The half-hour program will air throughout the NFL season and will focus on the crucial “turning point” moment in several games each week by utilizing NFL Films’ unmatched cinematography, and sideline and on-field audio.


PRO FOOTBALL TALK 
– WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON NBCSN

Mike Florio brings fans the latest NFL news and interviews with players and coaches every weekday morning with Pro Football Talk on NBCSN at 7 a.m. ET.  The two-hour Pro Football Talk 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 Florio’s national radio program that airs daily on NBC Sports Radio.

 

NBC’S HAIRSPRAY LIVE! STAR KRISTIN CHENOWETH TO PERFORM NATIONAL ANTHEM PRIOR TO PATRIOTS-CARDINALS SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SHOWDOWN

Emmy and Tony Award-winner Kristin Chenoweth, who will star in NBC’s presentation of “Hairspray Live!” on December 7, will perform the national anthem prior to coverage of the Patriots-Cardinals Sunday Night Football showdown. “Hairspray Live!” is the latest of NBC’s live musical productions, which have included “The Wiz Live!,” “Peter Pan Live!,” and “The Sound of Music Live!”

Chenoweth, whose latest album “The Art of Elegance” is due to be released on September 23, owns credits in musical theatre, film and television. She won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1999 for her performance as Sally Brown in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” on Broadway. In November, Chenoweth returns to the Broadway stage in “My Love Letter To Broadway.”

Chenoweth has also received Best Actress Tony Award nominations for both “Wicked” (2004) and “On the Twentieth Century” (2015). Her acting credits include roles in TV series “Pushing Daisies” (Emmy Winner) and “The West Wing” and feature films “Stranger Than Fiction” and “The Peanuts Movie.”

 

NBC DEBUTS NEW SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL OPEN SONG – CARRIE UNDERWOOD’S “OH, SUNDAY NIGHT” (NEW PHOTOS AVAILABLE AT BOTTOM)

Seven-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood’s new song “Oh, Sunday Night,” the new opening theme for primetime television’s No. 1 program, NBC’s Sunday Night Football, is now available to listen to in its entirety on NBCSports.com (here).

The open makes its television debut this Sunday before the kickoff of Patriots-Cardinals on NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Underwood is joined in the show open by 12 NFL players, who have accounted for 41 Pro Bowl selections, seven Super Bowl rings, and eight first-round draft picks. Following is the complete list of the players:

 

  • New York Giants WR Odell Beckham, Jr.
  • Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown
  • Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant
  • Seattle Seahawks S Kam Chancellor
  • Oakland Raiders LB Khalil Mack
  • New York Giants QB Eli Manning
  • Arizona Cardinals S Tyrann Mathieu
  • Green Bay Packers LB Clay Matthews
  • Denver Broncos LB Von Miller
  • Arizona Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson
  • Seattle Seahawks S Earl Thomas
  • Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ALL-ACCESSFor the seventh straight season NBCSports.com is providing a destination for fans dedicated to behind-the-scenes and social media driven content on the Sunday Night Football All Access page. Fans can follow the social conversation and access content around Sunday Night Football and the SNF Bus, including video highlights from the SNF Bus, player interviews and more. Fans can show their passion for who they think will win each week, use an interactive map to see how other football fans across the country are talking about that SNF matchup, and vote on which team’s hype video they like the best each week. Visit SNF All-Access at: http://snfallaccess.nbcsports.com/

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA:

 

  • SNF ON FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/SNFonNBC – At over 3 million LIKES strong, the Sunday Night Football Facebook page provides news, custom graphics, animations and videos exclusively behind-the-scenes at SNF every week. A key focus for the SNF Facebook page this season are regular Facebook Live Q&As with Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football talent both on the road and in the studio. The Facebook page also aggregates all SNF-related content found within the NBC Sports digital network, including NBCSports.comSNF All AccessProFootballTalk.com, and Rotoworld.com.

 

  • SNF ON TWITTER: twitter.com/SNFonNBC – Using tweets, photos, Vines and videos, @SNFonNBC provides unique content with SNF talent, production crew and NFL players. Additionally, Michele Tafoya will provide real-time tweets from the sideline to provide followers with updates all game long;

 

  • SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Going into its fifth season, Sunday Night Football gives the SNF fan a look at photos through the filters of Instagram, from on the road, on the SNF Bus and in the Football Night in America studio. Fans get a look inside the production trucks, the locker rooms, on the field and around each SNF city. Fans will get an exclusive look through Instagram of what life is like on the sideline, as our social media producer captures the best photos of Sunday night and posts in real time. For the first time, SNF on Instagram will utilize Instagram stories to give fans maximum exposure to the Sunday Night Football footprint.

 

  • NBC SPORTS ON SNAPCHAT: For the first time, NBC Sports’ Snapchat account will be creating content on the platform at each Sunday Night game including Kickoff and from the SNF Bus. The NBC Sports Snapchat account will take fans behind the scenes to the FNIA set, to player interviews and around cities where Sunday Night Football comes to town, utilizing lenses and filters to customize content specifically for the Snapchat audience.

 

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BUS RETURNS FOR 2016 NFL SEASON 

As NBC – the only network with two primetime NFL packages – celebrates NFL Kickoff 2016, NBC Sports Group’s Sunday Night Football bus returns this week to travel the country, visiting the host cities of select Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football games. This season, fans will get a closer look at behind-the-scenes action of SNF broadcasts on the bus, which will take fans from the field, to the studio and in the production trucks. Features of the bus include an interactive replica of the control room, a replica of the Football Night in America desk, life-size “Photo Bomb” wall, and more.

The bus will arrive in each 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, memorabilia and a 55-inch monitor housing social media elements.

Click here for more information on the SNF bus.

 

2016 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AND THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS

NBC will combine to present 24 regular-season primetime games, including 17 SNF games, the NFL’s opening game of the season NFL Kickoff 2016, the NBC’s annual Thanksgiving night game, and five new Thursday night games. Every 2015 playoff team makes an appearance on Sunday Night Football, and 19 of NBC’s 23 scheduled regular-season games (Week 17 game TBD) involve at least one playoff team from last season.

Click here for more details on NBC’s SNF and TNF schedule highlights.


NBC SPORTS RADIO


NBC Sports Radio will surround the 2016 NFL season with daily coverage across nearly 420 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 wide receiver Amani Toomer; NFL Insider Michele Tafoya; and Pro Football Talk Live, featuring NFL insider and Football Night In America commentator Mike Florio.

To listen to a live stream of NBC Sports Radio, or find your local affiliate, visit http://www.NBCSportsRadio.com.


NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS

NBC Sports Regional Networks, which serve top NFL markets such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco, will surround the 2016 NFL season with in-depth news, analysis and original programming on the local teams that matter most in more than 50 million U.S. cable and satellite households.

 

SNF IS TV’S NO. 1 PRIMETIME PROGRAM FOR 5 YEARS RUNNING

For a historic five consecutive Sept.-May television seasons, NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished as television’s No. 1 primetime show in household rating (13.0) and viewership (22.5 million average), as well as the coveted Adult 18-49 demographic (8.0), based on live plus same day data from The Nielsen Company (September-May). Sunday Night Football is one of only four shows since 1950 to rank No. 1 in primetime for five consecutive TV seasons.

 

 

2016 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thurs. Sept. 8 NFL Kickoff  Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos
Sun. Sept. 11 Week 1   New England Patriots at Arizona Cardinals
Sun. Sept. 18 Week 2   Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Sun. Sept. 25 Week 3   Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys
Sun. Oct. 2 Week 4 Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers
*Sun. Oct. 9 Week 5   New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
*Sun. Oct. 16 Week 6 Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans
*Sun. Oct. 23 Week 7 Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
*Sun. Oct. 30 Week 8 Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys
*Sun. Nov. 6 Week 9 Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
*Sun. Nov. 13 Week 10 Seattle Seahawks at New England Patriots
*Sun. Nov. 20 Week 11  Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins
**Thurs. Nov. 24 Week 12 Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts
*Sun. Nov. 27 Week 12 New England Patriots at New York Jets
*Sun. Dec. 4 Week 13 Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks
*Sun. Dec. 11 Week 14 Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants
*Sun. Dec. 18 Week 15 Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Sun. Dec. 25 Week 16 Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
*Sun. Jan. 1 Week 17 TBD

 

 

*Flex Week

** Thanksgiving Night Game

 

2016 NBC THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Thurs. Nov. 17 Week 11 New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Thurs. Dec. 1 Week 13   Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
Thurs. Dec. 8 Week 14   Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Thurs. Dec. 15 Week 15 Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
Thurs. Dec. 22 Week 16 New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

 

 

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–