FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, September 7th, 2021
2021 NFL SEASON KICKS OFF THURSDAY NIGHT AS TOM BRADY & DEFENDING SUPER BOWL CHAMPION BUCCANEERS HOST DAK PRESCOTT AND COWBOYS ON NBC, PEACOCK AND UNIVERSO
Coverage Begins with NFL Kickoff Special Featuring Football Night in America Team On-Site in Tampa at 7 p.m. ET; Followed by 8:20 p.m. ET Kickoff
Matthew Stafford and Rams Welcome Fans to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles vs. Khalil Mack and Chicago Bears in Season Debut of Sunday Night Football on Sept. 12 – Coverage Begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
NBC Sports Begins and Ends 2021 NFL Season with Kickoff Game and Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 7, 2021 – NBC Sports will open the NFL’s “biggest season ever” with the 2021 NFL Kickoff game this Thursday, Sept. 9, when Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady and the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers raise their Super Bowl LV banner before hosting Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys at Raymond James Stadium. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with the NFL Kickoff Special, followed by kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Universo.
The NFL Kickoff game — the 275th regular-season game in the NBC SNF package — marks an NFL-high 50th series appearance by the Dallas Cowboys, and for Brady, his 32nd start in the series — the equivalent of two full NFL seasons. With a victory, Brady (20-11) will match Peyton Manning for the most QB wins in the 15 years of NBC SNF.
Sunday Night Football — America’s No. 1 primetime television show for an unprecedented 10 consecutive years — debuts three days later on Sunday, Sept. 12, when fans visit the new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for the first time in the regular season. Quarterback Matthew Stafford makes his first start for the Rams against Khalil Mack and the Chicago Bears, who welcome two new quarterbacks in Andy Dalton and first-round draft pick Justin Fields. Coverage begins with Football Night in America — the most-watched studio show in sports — at 7 p.m. ET, leading into kickoff at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock and Universo.
Calling both matchups is Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 36th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth; and four-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay is the Sunday Night Football rules analyst.
NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff. SNF has won a record 11 Sports Emmys for Outstanding Live Sports Series.
Coverage of the 2021 NFL Kickoff game begins on Thursday with the NFL Kickoff Special at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The pregame show, headlined by a special on-site edition of Football Night in America in Tampa Bay, will feature host Mike Tirico and co-host Maria Taylor, Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, and NFL Insider Mike Florio, who will contribute remotely from his home studio. Co-host Jac Collinsworth and two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison will provide on-field analysis and reports from Raymond James Stadium. NBC Sports’ Kathryn Tappen will also appear during pregame coverage on Thursday.
Football Night, the most-watched studio show in sports since its debut in 2006, begins every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The coordinating producer of FNIA is Rob Hyland and the co-producer is Matt Casey. FNIA is directed by Pierre Moossa.
The SNF team of Michaels, Collinsworth, Tafoya and Gaudelli, and the FNIA team of Tirico, Dungy, Harrison, Brees and executive producer Sam Flood previewed the 2021 NFL season on media conference calls last week. Click here for quotes from the SNF call, and here for FNIA.
NBC Sports will present the first snap of the opening game in Tampa and the final snap as the league crowns a champion in Los Angeles at Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13, 2022 at SoFi Stadium on NBC, Peacock and Telemundo.
PEACOCK TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON
For the first time ever, all of NBC Sports’ NFL regular-season games, playoff games, Super Bowl LVI, and Football Night in America will stream live on Peacock this season. Peacock features a slate of sports talk content NFL fans can enjoy on the NBC Sports channel, which is free to stream. Shows include Brother from Another, as well as The Dan Patrick Show, The Rich Eisen Show, PFT Live, PFT PM, Safety Blitz, The Peter King Podcast, and Chris Simms Unbuttoned.
To learn more about the NFL on Peacock, including how to watch and sign up, click here. Peacock Premium is included at no additional cost for Comcast’s eligible Xfinity X1 and Flex customers and Cox Contour customers.
NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC games to desktops, mobile, tablets, 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. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast.
TELEMUNDO DEPORTES TO PRESENT ENTIRE NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE, INCLUDING PLAYOFFS AND SUPER BOWL LVI
Telemundo Deportes will again carry the entire NBC Sunday Night Football package, including exclusive Spanish-language coverage of Super Bowl LVI, live for the first time on the Telemundo Network — marking the first time ever that a Super Bowl will be televised on a Spanish-language broadcast network in the U.S. The package also includes 20 regular season games that will be televised on Universo, including the NFL Kickoff game and the Thanksgiving primetime game, as well as a Wild Card game, and one Divisional Playoff game. In addition, Telemundo Network will broadcast the Sunday primetime Wild Card game. All games will also be available on live stream via TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo Deportes app.
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. It was announced in May 2019 that King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com; making regular appearances on PFT Live with Mike Florio; and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports. The Peter King Podcast streams weekly on Peacock on Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET.
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 and Paul Burmeister, 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. The show is available to stream on Peacock on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET.
NBC SPORTS EDGE
NBC Sports EDGE, part of the newly announced NBC Sports Next portfolio and one of the internet’s highest-trafficked fantasy sports and gaming websites, offers comprehensive fantasy football and betting coverage throughout the 2021 NFL season across NBC Sports’ platforms. The industry-leading source for fantasy football news and information, the 2021 Fantasy Football Draft Guide is available for purchase now via NBC Sports EDGE’s subscription model beginning at only $3.99 per month, and features more than 450 extensive player profiles, player projections, positional tiers, Top 200 rankings for PPR, Half-PPR, Non-PPR and Dynasty, as well as Individual Defensive Player rankings, sleepers and busts, drafting strategy articles, team reports and much more. NBC Sports EDGE also provides fantasy football coverage and betting insights through its digital shows, A Good Football Show and Bet the Edge.
PFT LIVE – WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON PEACOCK
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 streaming live on Peacock at 7 a.m. ET. Peter King also contributes regularly to PFT Live’s coverage throughout the season.
The two-hour PFT Live is known for delivering inside information and comprehensive analysis from an independent perspective. The show covers all the latest news around the league, breaks down reports and rumors and features interviews with players, coaches and executives. The show re-airs on NBCSN from 9-11 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 A Good Football Show. 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 A Good Football Show explores fantasy implications for fans. New episodes of NBC Sports podcasts are available for download each week on all major podcast platforms including:
NBCSports.com/podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart.
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA
- SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Through the unique filter of Instagram, fans will get an in-depth look at each week’s Sunday Night Football game with the most engaging photos and videos from across the NFL. SNF also utilizes Instagram Stories for up-to-the-minute coverage of the league.
- SNF ON TWITTER: The very latest news, video, analysis from the Football Night in America crew and much more lives on @SNFonNBC, the real-time engine for NBC’s year-round NFL coverage.
- SNF ON FACEBOOK: With more than 3.5 million followers, SNF’s Facebook page is the hub of football conversation. It’s the place to converse and engage with fellow fans on the latest news and action across the NFL.
- NBC SPORTS ON TIKTOK: NBC Sports’ presence on TikTok puts the spotlight on the offbeat and exuberant side of the National Football League for a young, highly-engaged audience.
NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS
NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Washington will again deliver extensive multiplatform coverage of the 2021 NFL season, led by comprehensive live gameday shows, in-depth news, analysis and commentary programming, and multimedia digital content covering the teams in their respective markets.
canVS
NBC Sports invites fans to paint a path to Super Bowl LVI with SNF canVS, a season-long interactive art campaign, beginning this Thursday at the 2021 NFL Kickoff game and continuing at each Sunday Night Football game throughout the season.
Each week in the city of the SNF matchup, local artists will create a five-yard long mural inspired by fan input that epitomizes the fanbase’s love for their team. At the end of the season, each of the 20 five-yard murals will come together to create a 100-yard masterpiece showcasing the painted pride that captures the devotion and passion of fans.
CARRIE UNDERWOOD
Seven-time Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum recording artist Carrie Underwood stars in the show open for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. This year’s show open debuts this Sunday night, Sept. 12, before kickoff of Bears-Rams on NBC.
Shot at Industrial Light & Magic’s cutting edge LED sound stage utilizing the company’s StageCraft LED virtual production technology recently used in “The Mandalorian,” the 2021 Sunday Night Football show open for the first time will feature a virtual football tailgate as a backdrop for Underwood’s performance of “Waiting All Day For Sunday Night.”
In addition, the show open will highlight user-generated cameos from some of the NFL’s biggest stars, as well as fans’ self-recorded video from NFL tailgates.
NBC’S SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL IS PRIMETIME TELEVISION’S NO. 1 SHOW FOR RECORD 10 CONSECUTIVE YEARS: NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2020-21 TV season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 10th 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 11th consecutive TV season.
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| Thurs. Sept. 9 | NFL Kickoff | Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| Sun. Sept. 12 | Week 1 | Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams | ||
| Sun. Sept. 19 | Week 2 | Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Ravens | ||
| Sun. Sept. 26 | Week 3 | Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers | ||
| Sun. Oct. 3 | Week 4 | Tampa Bay Bucs at New England Patriots | ||
| *Sun. Oct. 10 | Week 5 | Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs | ||
| *Sun. Oct. 17 | Week 6 | Seattle Seahawks at Pittsburgh Steelers | ||
| *Sun. Oct. 24 | Week 7 | Indianapolis Colts at San Francisco 49ers | ||
| *Sun. Oct. 31 | Week 8 | Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings | ||
| *Sun. Nov. 7 | Week 9 | Tennessee Titans at Los Angeles Rams | ||
| *Sun. Nov. 14 | Week 10 | Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders | ||
| *Sun. Nov. 21 | Week 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers at Los Angeles Chargers | ||
| **Thurs. Nov. 25 | Week 12 | Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints | ||
| *Sun. Nov. 28 | Week 12 | Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens | ||
| *Sun. Dec. 5 | Week 13 | San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks | ||
| *Sun. Dec. 12 | Week 14 | Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers | ||
| *Sun. Dec. 19 | Week 15 | New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| *Sun. Dec. 26 | Week 16 | Washington Football Team at Dallas Cowboys | ||
| *Sun. Jan. 2 | Week 17 | Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers | ||
| *Sun. Jan. 9 | Week 18 | TBD | ||
*Flex Week
** Thanksgiving Night Game
FLEXIBLE SCHEDULING:
Flexible scheduling will be used in Weeks 11-18. Additionally, in Weeks 5-10, flexible scheduling may be used in no more than two weeks. In Weeks 5-17, 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.
For Week 18, two Saturday games and the Sunday night game will be announced no later than six days prior to January 9. The schedule does not list Saturday games or a Sunday night game in Week 18, but games with playoff implications will be moved to those time slots. Flexible scheduling ensures quality matchups in all Sunday time slots in those weeks and gives “surprise” teams a chance to play their way into primetime.
–SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL–
