FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 20th, 2022

TOM BRADY & TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS HOST AARON DONALD & LOS ANGELES RAMS IN NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS THIS SUNDAY AT 3 P.M. ET ON NBC, PEACOCK, AND UNIVERSO

Coverage Begins with Special Edition of Football Night in America Sunday at 2 p.m. ET

“Sunday Night 7” Free-to-Play Game Features $1 Million Jackpot

Peacock Exclusively Premieres First Episode of Five-Part Docuseries, EARNIN’ IT: The NFL’s Forward Progress, this Sunday

NBC Sports’ Presentation of Two NFL Super Wild Card Weekend Games Posts Viewership Milestones

NBC Sports to Present Super Bowl LVI Sunday, Feb. 13, from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles

STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 20, 2022 – Three-time NFL MVP Tom Brady and the defending-Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoffs from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., this Sunday, Jan. 23 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Peacock, and Universo. Coverage begins with a special edition of Football Night in America Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

The Buccaneers (14-4) and Rams (13-5) last met in Week 3, with Los Angeles topping Tampa Bay, 34-24, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns in the win, and Brady passed for 432 yards with two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing).

Sunday’s game marks the third postseason meeting between the franchises, with the Rams holding a 2-0 series advantage. The last Playoff meeting came in the 1999 NFC Championship Game as the Rams won, 11-6, on their way to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.

Tampa Bay beat Philadelphia, 31-15, on Wild Card Weekend as Brady passed for 271 yards and two touchdowns and wide receiver Mike Evans caught nine passes for 117 yards and a touchdown. Brady, who has won seven Super Bowls and five Super Bowl MVPs, holds NFL postseason records for most career wins (35), passing yards (12,770), and passing touchdowns (85). The Buccaneers are aiming to become the first back-to-back Super Bowl champions since Brady and the New England Patriots won Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX following the 2003 and 2004 seasons, respectively. As a member of the Patriots, Brady defeated the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI to win his first title.

Los Angeles defeated Arizona, 34-11, in the Wild Card round on Monday night as Stafford, who earned his first career Playoff victory, passed for 202 yards and two touchdowns and the Rams’ defense held the Cardinals to 183 total yards. Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp, who scored a touchdown against Arizona, led the NFL in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,947), and touchdown catches (16) in the regular season, becoming the fourth player since 1970 to lead the league in all three categories in a single season.

Calling Rams-Buccaneers 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 (analyst); and four-time Sports Emmy Award-winner Michele Tafoya and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporters). Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay will serve as the rules analyst.

NBC Sports’ coverage on Sunday is led by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff.

Football Night in America features host Maria Taylor, Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, and NFL Insider Mike Florio. Two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison and Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees will join co-host Jac Collinsworth to provide on-field analysis and reports from Raymond James Stadium.

NBC SPORTS’ PRESENTATION OF TWO NFL SUPER WILD CARD WEEKEND GAMES POSTS VIEWERSHIP MILESTONES

NBC Sports’ presentation of two NFL Super Wild Card Weekend games posted viewership milestones, delivered increases over the games in last year’s corresponding time slots, and set NBC Sports Digital NFL streaming records.

Across both games, NBC Sports’ Total Audience Delivery average of 29.7 million viewers is up 23% from its Super Wild Card Weekend coverage last year (24.1 million TAD).

Sunday night’s Steelers-Chiefs game averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 30.5 million viewers across NBC, Telemundo, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms – up 17% from last year’s Sunday night Wild Card game on the same platforms (26.1 million for Browns-Steelers), according to official data released today by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics. The NBC audience of 28.9 million viewers ranks as television’s most-watched primetime show since Super Bowl LV in February 2021. Click here for more.

PEACOCK ORIGINAL DOCUSERIES EARNIN’ IT: THE NFL’S FORWARD PROGRESS BEGINS STREAMING THIS SUNDAY, JAN. 23

On Sunday, Peacock will exclusively premiere the first episode of EARNIN’ IT: The NFL’s Forward Progress, a five-part docuseries from NFL Films highlighting the careers of some of the most powerful women working in the NFL.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL CONCLUDES SEASON ON PACE TO BE TV’S #1 PRIMETIME SHOW FOR UNPRECEDENTED 11TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

NBC Sports concluded its 16th season of Sunday Night Football, topping all primetime television series in the fall and once again pacing to finish as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 11th consecutive year in the most competitive time slot in media. NBC’s SNF extended its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950).

NBC Sunday Night Football posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 19.3 million viewers for the 2021 season – up 11% from last season (17.4 million), according to official national live plus same day data released by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Over the course of the season, viewers watched nearly 70 billion minutes of SNF – the most in a season since 2016. For more details, click here.

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.

“SUNDAY NIGHT 7” FREE-TO-PLAY GAME TO FEATURE $1 MILLION JACKPOT THROUGH DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS

NBC Sports’ free-to-play NFL game, Sunday Night 7, will offer its $1 million weekly jackpot each week through the Divisional playoffs. Sunday Night 7 is available for download NOW on the NBC Sports Predictor app powered by PointsBet (available in the App Store and Google Play Store) and at NBCSports.com/Predictor.

During Wild Card Weekend, Sunday’s Steelers-Chiefs game had nine users finish in first place with a score of 45 points, and Saturday’s Raiders-Bengals game had four users finish in first place with a score of 50 points.

POINTSBET AND NBC SPORTS INCLUDE EXCLUSIVE BETTING INTEGRATIONS INTO FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA AND PEACOCK SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL FINAL POST-GAME SHOW

This season, PointsBet and NBC Sports include exclusive betting integrations on the Football Night in America studio show and the new Peacock Sunday Night Football Final postgame show. Click here for more information.

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

Pro Football Talk streams live on Peacock’s NBC Sports on Peacock channel from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. ET on weekdays and re-airs at 9 a.m. ET on Peacock. Florio is joined by veteran sports commentator Mike Golic on Monday mornings, co-host and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms from Tuesday – Thursday, with a special guest co-hosting on Fridays.

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.

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.

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.

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.

–SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL–