FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 3rd, 2020
NBC’S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL & FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA KICK OFF 15TH SEASON – ONE WEEK FROM TONIGHT
Cowboys Top All Clubs With 47 NBC SNF Games; Saints Have NBC SNF-Best .789 Win Percentage; Tom Brady Has Passed for Most Yards on NBC SNF
STAMFORD, Conn. – September 3, 2020 – One week from today — next Thursday, Sept. 10 as the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans – Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America kick off their 15th seasons on NBC. The 2006 NFL Kickoff game (Pittsburgh’s 28-17 victory over Miami on Sept. 7, 2006) was the first of NBC’s 255 regular-season primetime games played to date in the SNF package.
Along the way, Sunday Night Football has been primetime TV’s No. 1 show for an unprecedented nine consecutive seasons (2011-19) – a record unmatched in TV history (since 1950) – while Football Night in America has been the most-watched weekly studio show in sports each season since its 2006 debut. With those two #1s, comes a third, more obscure single digit – there has only been one tie in NBC SNF history (Seahawks-Cardinals, 6-6, Oct. 23, 2016).
In those first 14 NBC SNF seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have played the most games (47), the New Orleans Saints have the best winning percentage (.789), Tom Brady has the most passing yards (9,320) and Peyton Manning has thrown the most TD passes (65) (more NBC SNF stats below).
Following are some notes and quotes as NBC’s SNF and FNIA head into their 15th seasons:
5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE SNF TEAM
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- NBC SNF’s play-by-play voice since the 2006 debut season, Al Michaels’ first job was on TV’s “The Dating Game” – “I helped to select the contestants. It was my first job out of college and the only non-sportscasting job I’ve ever had. Linda and I had just gotten married and she worked there as well and was able to keep her eye on me. Worked out just fine! We just celebrated another anniversary.”
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- SNF’s game analyst since 2009, Cris Collinsworth (who succeeded John Madden) studied to become a lawyer – “I was in law school while playing for the Bengals, so it took me five years to graduate. When I graduated, instead of a diploma, they gave me tenure.”
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- SNF’s sideline reporter since 2011, Michele Tafoya (who succeeded Andrea Kremer) was a high school senior when she attended the famous Nov. 1982 game between Stanford and Cal…two colleges to which she’d be accepted. – “The band was on the field, John Elway was angry, and I got to rush the field after one of the most historic games in college football. Incidentally, I turned down Stanford and went to Cal. The ensuing hours of celebration alongside Cal students had absolutely nothing to do with my decision!”
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- SNF’s lead producer since the 2006 debut season, Fred Gaudelli, who has been the lead producer of more primetime NFL games than anyone in history (begins 31st season next week) has never worked a heavy snow game – “We came close in Philadelphia back in 2010, but the league ended up calling the game and moving it to Tuesday. Hoping we get the shot in the coming years.”
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- SNF’s director since the 2006 debut season, Drew Esocoff, who begins his 21st season as the director of the NFL’s broadcast primetime package, was a substitute teacher at Elizabeth (NJ) High School, where one of his students was Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles – “You could tell right away, that Todd was headed for big things!” Bowles and the Bucs are on Sunday Night Football twice this season.
FNIA FACTS & FIGURES
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- The original Football Night in America team in 2006 consisted of Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis, Sterling Sharpe and Peter King.
- The current FNIA team consists of Mike Tirico, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Chris Simms, Mike Florio and Liam McHugh.
- Formerly fierce rivals on the field, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison begin their 12th season together on FNIA in 2020.
- Mike Tirico will host or call six events in 20 days from NBC Sports’ Stamford studios beginning with the Kentucky Derby this Saturday, followed by golf’s TOUR Championship, the NFL Kickoff Game studio show, Notre Dame Football, the opening Sunday Football Night in America, and U.S. Open golf. In addition, he recently hosted the Indianapolis 500 from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Aug. 23.
- FNIA has had three homes – Studio 8G and Studio 8H at NBCUniversal headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City and currently at Studio 1 at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.
- Football Night in America has been the most-watched studio show in sports since its inception in 2006. Average viewership in 2019 was 7.3 million viewers (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET), up 12% vs. the inaugural season in 2006 (6.5 million).
- The most-watched single show (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET) in FNIA history was on Sept. 13, 2015, which averaged 12.3 million viewers leading into the Week 1 game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
- The final quarter-hour of FNIA combined with the Sunday Night Football pre-kick show (8:00-8:23 p.m. ET) averaged 12.3 million viewers in 2019, which would rank No. 3 among primetime television’s regularly-scheduled shows.
SNF STATS
ON THE SCREEN
SNF Ranks 1 in Primetime for Unprecedented 9th Consecutive Year
NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2019-20 television season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented ninth consecutive year – adding to its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on official live plus same day data provided by Nielsen. Sunday Night Football also ranked as the No. 1 show in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic for the 10th consecutive TV season. NBC Sunday Night Football posted a Total Audience Delivery average of 20.5 million viewers in 2019 – up 5% from the prior season (19.6 million) and a 12% increase over 2017 (18.4 million), according to official live plus same day data released by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.).
Most Consecutive Years, #1 Ranked Show in Primetime, Since 1950
9 years in a row – Sunday Night Football (2011-12 through 2019-20)
6 years in a row – American Idol (2005-06 through 2010-11)
5 years in a row – The Cosby Show (1985-86 through 1989-90)…tied Cheers in ‘89-90
5 years in a row – All in the Family (1971-72 through 1975-76)
4 years in a row – Gunsmoke (1957-58 through 1960-61)
SNF Sets Streaming Record
NBC Sports Digital hit another viewership milestone for Sunday Night Football in 2019, with a record Average Minute Audience of 459,000 viewers across NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and NFL Digital platforms – up 44% from the prior record (318,000) set in 2018.
ON THE FIELD
NBC has televised 255 regular-season primetime NFL games since NBC’s Sunday Night Football debuted on September 7, 2006. Among the notable facts and figures:
New Stadiums Debuting on NBC’s Sunday Night Football
| Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts) | 2008 |
| AT&T Stadium (Cowboys) | 2009 |
| Levi’s Stadium (49ers) | 2014 |
| U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings) | 2016 |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Falcons) | 2017 |
| Sofi Stadium (Rams, Chargers) | *2020 |
*Week 1 this year
Most NBC SNF Games, Since 2006, Team
| Dallas Cowboys | 47 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 36 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 34 | |
| New England Patriots | 34 | |
| New York Giants | 34 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 34 | |
Most Played Matchups on NBC SNF, Since 2006
| Cowboys-Eagles | 13 |
| Cowboys-Giants | 12 |
| Ravens-Steelers | 8 |
| Bears-Packers | 8 |
| Eagles-Giants | 7 |
Best Win % on NBC SNF, Since 2006, Team
| New Orleans Saints | 15-4-0 | .789 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 12-7-1 | .625 |
| New England Patriots | 21-13-0 | .618 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 5-3-1 | .611 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9-6-0 | .600 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 9-6-0 | .600 |
Most TDs Scored on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Antonio Brown | 22 |
| Joseph Addai | 15 |
| Dez Bryant | 15 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 15 |
| Jason Witten | 15 |
Most TD passes on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Peyton Manning | 65 |
| Tom Brady | 64 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 61 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 60 |
| Tony Romo | 55 |
Most Passing Yards on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Tom Brady | 9,320 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 9,071 |
| Eli Manning | 8,196 |
| Peyton Manning | 7,682 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 7,626 |
Most Rushing Yards on NBC Sunday Night Football
| LeSean McCoy | 1,610 |
| DeMarco Murray | 1,143 |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 1,082 |
| Joseph Addai | 1,064 |
| Brandon Jacobs | 960 |
Most Receiving Yards on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Jason Witten | 2,323 |
| Antonio Brown | 2,218 |
| Dez Bryant | 1,637 |
| Reggie Wayne | 1,623 |
| Demaryius Thomas | 1,591 |
— NBC SPORTS –
