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[12/14/11 - 12:40 PM]
NBCUniversal's New Nine-Year "Sunday Night Football" Agreement Includes More Games, Three Super Bowls, Upgraded Playoff Package & Enhanced Flex Scheduling
Plus: NBC will annually broadcast a primetime game on Thanksgiving night beginning in 2012.

[via press release from NBC]

NBCUNIVERSAL'S NEW NINE-YEAR "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" AGREEMENT INCLUDES MORE GAMES, THREE SUPER BOWLS, UPGRADED PLAYOFF PACKAGE & ENHANCED FLEX SCHEDULING

Increased Digital Rights Annual Thanksgiving Night Broadcasts Begin on NBC in 2012

NEW YORK - December 14, 2011 - NBCUniversal today agreed to a new and extensive media rights agreement to extend its NFL rights package through the 2022 season. The new agreement includes many enhancements that broaden the exposure of NFL content on NBC, and across other NBCUniversal platforms.

"This is a great day for NBCUniversal and the NBC Sports Group. There is no more powerful programming on television than the NFL and no better program than Sunday Night Football. The long-term agreement announced today provides us with significant enhancements to our existing NFL package, ensures that we will continue our partnership with the NFL for many years, and adds tremendous value to the many assets of NBCUniversal. We could not be more pleased," said Steve Burke, CEO, NBCUniversal.

"Sunday Night Football on NBC is the most-watched program on primetime television, and we're excited to continue our long-term partnership with the NFL," said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBC Sports Group. "The new primetime Thanksgiving game starting in 2012, the upgraded playoff package and the three Super Bowls are all major enhancements to our new agreement. The additional digital and programming rights add tremendous value to the NBC Sports Group portfolio."

This new and extensive media rights agreement includes many enhancements vs. the previous agreement:

(Beginning with the new agreement in 2014 except where noted in bold)

· NBC will annually broadcast a primetime game on Thanksgiving night beginning in 2012;

· Upgraded playoff coverage, exchanging one of its current Wild Card games for a Divisional playoff game;

· In addition to the 2012 Super Bowl, NBC will broadcast the 2015, 2018 and 2021 Super Bowls;

· Enhanced flexible scheduling;

· Expanded digital rights, including "TV Everywhere" rights;

· Spanish language rights so that games could be shown on Telemundo, mun2 or with an SAP feed.

NBC will now broadcast 19 regular season games including 17 regular season Sunday Night Football games, each season's opening NFL Kickoff Thursday night primetime game and the new Thanksgiving night game, and two playoff games (one Wild Card game and one Divisional game). NBC's original Sunday Night Football agreement, which began in 2006, included 17 regular season games. It was increased to 18 in 2010.

Sunday Night Football, the most-watched primetime show of the fall television season for the second straight year, is preceded each week at 7 p.m. ET by the critically acclaimed Football Night in America, which provides comprehensive highlights and analysis of the day's events in the NFL, along with a preview of that night's Sunday Night Football contest.

The original six-year Sunday Night Football agreement between NBC Sports and the NFL started with the 2006 season and ran through the 2011 season. The current agreement, which was extended in 2009, expires after the 2013 season.

NBC & THE NFL: NBC's long history with the NFL dates back 70 years to 1939 when NBC became the first network to televise an NFL game - Philadelphia Eagles vs. Brooklyn Dodgers from Ebbets Field to the approximately 1,000 sets then in New York. NBC first broadcast the NFL Championship Game in 1955. In 1964, NBC signed a five-year contract to televise the AFL. NBC was awarded the AFC package in 1970, an association that would continue through the 1997-98 season. NBC televised the first Super Bowl in 1967 and the historic New York Jets' upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969.

In February 2009, NBC broadcast Super Bowl XLIII, which was, at the time, the most-watched program in television history, and on February 5, 2012, NBC will broadcast Super Bowl XLVI from Indianapolis with extensive coverage all week on NBC Sports Network (to be re-named from VERSUS on Jan. 2, 2012). NBC has built Sunday Night Football into the most-watched primetime show on television.





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· FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA (NBC)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)





[12/19/25 - 04:52 PM]
Season One Finale of Vince Gilligan's Critically Acclaimed Science Fiction Drama "Pluribus" Starring Emmy Award-Nominee Rhea Seehorn Premieres Early on December 24, 2025 on Apple TV
The ninth episode will debut early ahead of the holiday on Apple TV on Wednesday, December 24, 2025.

[12/19/25 - 03:01 PM]
Video: "STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" - Official Trailer - Netflix
The latest installment premieres on Thursday, March 19, 2026, only on Netflix.

[12/19/25 - 02:33 PM]
ABC Celebrates Record-Breaking 2025 with Top Six Shows Among Adults 18-49 and TV's No. 1 Show, "High Potential"
"High Potential" stands as the No. 1 series for the year in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, with the network also owning the Top Six shows in the key Adult demo.

[12/19/25 - 12:24 PM]
Multi Emmy-Nominated BET+ Comedy "The Ms. Pat Show" Returns for Season 5 on Wednesday, January 7
The first four seasons of the groundbreaking R-rated sitcom unpacked everything from drug addiction and abortion to sexual abuse and dysfunctional family cycles.

[12/19/25 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Original Documentary "Critical Incident" Debuts December 29
The film revisits the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernández-Rojas, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who died while in custody at the border.

[12/19/25 - 09:31 AM]
Laura Marcus Joins the Cast of "Assassin's Creed," The New Live-Action Series Adaptation of Ubisoft's Best-Selling Video Game Franchise
Toby Wallace, Lola Petticrew, and Zachary Hart also star in the Netflix series.

[12/19/25 - 08:31 AM]
Peacock Exclusively Streams Focus Features' Critically Acclaimed "Bugonia" Beginning December 26
Nominated for 3 Golden Globe Awards and 3 Critics Choice Awards, Focus Features' psychological thriller stars Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias and Alicia Silverstone.

[12/19/25 - 06:01 AM]
"Snoop's Holiday Halftime Party" to Feature the Singing Voices of HUNTR/X from Netflix's "KPop Demon Hunters" and Country Sensation Lainey Wilson
This Christmas, Netflix is decking the halls and the halftime stage with a spectacular celebration that's set to dazzle fans around the globe.

[12/19/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN and The Heisman Trophy Trust Extend Exclusive Media Rights Agreement
The 2025 Heisman Trophy Ceremony averaged 4.3 million viewers, delivering the event's best audience since 2012 and finishing up 69% year-over-year.

[12/19/25 - 06:01 AM]
Video: Prime Video Unveils the Teaser Trailer and Reveals the Release Month of Its Next Italian Prime Original Film Shot in English, "Love Me Love Me"
It only takes one look to fall in love. And nothing will ever be the same again.

[12/19/25 - 02:01 AM]
"Salvador" Arrives to Netflix on February 6
"Salvador" is an action drama series in which Luis Tosar steps into the shoes of Salvador, a father and emergency medical technician who fights to leave behind his past with alcohol and make amends for the mistakes he made with his family.

[12/18/25 - 07:01 PM]
"Last Samurai Standing" Renewed for Season 2 - A Global Sensation Proudly Made in Japan
The battle royale that captivated Japan and international audiences now turns the page to its next chapter.

[12/18/25 - 06:01 PM]
"Dynamite Kiss" Nears Its Final Episode, Leaving Ji-hyeok and Da-rim at a Crossroads Between Romance and Goodbye
The final episode premieres December 24, just in time for Christmas, only on Netflix.

[12/18/25 - 01:56 PM]
Apple TV Sets New Dramedy "Beat the Reaper," Starring and Executive Produced by Will Poulter
Based on the novel of the same name by Josh Bazell, "Beat the Reaper" will star Poulter as Dr. Peter Brown, an intern at Boston's worst hospital who has a talent for medicine, works a shift from hell and has a past he'd prefer to keep hidden.

[12/18/25 - 11:01 AM]
Netflix Announces "So Far Gone" with Straight-to-Series Order After Competitive Bidding
The series, like Jess Walter's book, follows Rhys Kinnick, a journalist who's pulled out of retirement when his daughter goes missing.