COVERAGE BEGINS WITH FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA AT 7 PM ET
This Week on NFL Turning Point: Cowboys-Lions, Steelers-Texans and Aaron Rodgers & Mike McCarthy Mic’d for Sound; Airs Tomorrow on VERSUS at 10 p.m. ET
NBC SportsTalk Focuses on NFL Each Monday and Friday at 6 p.m. ET on VERSUS
NEW YORK – October 5, 2011 – Aaron Rodgers leads the 4-0 Green Bay Packers into Atlanta to take on the defending NFC South champion Falcons on Sunday Night Football. In last week’s win against the Broncos, Rodgers became the first quarterback in NFL history to post 400 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game.
These two teams met in last year’s divisional playoff round when the Packers came into Atlanta and defeated the Falcons, 48-21, on their way to winning Super Bowl XLV.
Calling Packers-Falcons will be six-time Emmy Award-winner Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his 26th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 12-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth, who won the Emmy for outstanding event analyst in both of his seasons in the Sunday Night Football booth; and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, in her first season on SNF.
Coverage begins Sunday with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. ET with 22-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. Costas is joined on site by Michaels and Collinsworth for reaction to the afternoon games.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from Studio 8G at NBC’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza studios and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison, Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com. Alex Flanagan will report from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on the Jets-Patriots game.
ON MATT RYAN
Harrison: “The Falcons are very talented across the board, but Matt Ryan struggles throwing the ball down the field. He is not very effective in seven-step drops. He needs to drop back five steps. He doesn’t do a good job of recognizing where the blitzers are coming from. That’s a rookie mistake and he’s a veteran player. He shouldn’t have those problems.”
ON AARON RODGERS
Michaels: “Aaron Rodgers is playing about as well as a quarterback can play.”
Collinsworth: “This is one of those seasons when you begin to say, ‘Can Rodgers be the next MVP?’
ON PACKERS-FALCONS
Collinsworth: “The Packers are on top of their game, scoring a lot of points. For the Falcons, this is one of those games where they would like to make amends for that playoff embarrassment from a season ago.”
Harrison: “Matt Ryan should not come out and feel pressure to match Aaron Rodgers score-for-score. They have to run the ball, take time of possession and work Tony Gonzalez against some of those safeties.”
Dungy: “For Atlanta to win this game they have to get back to their formula of last year; running Michael Turner, pounding the ball, and using Matt Ryan and his play-action game as a complementary weapon. They are not going to win a shootout against the Packers.
Dan, Tony and Rodney break down Packers-Falcons:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/21428022 – 44752320
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NFL TURNING POINT AIRS TOMORROW ON VERSUS, 10 P.M. ET
NFL Turning Point, VERSUS’ new weekly show co-produced by NFL Films and the NBC Sports Group, continues this Thursday at 10 p.m. ET. The hour-long program, hosted by Football Night in America’s Dan Patrick, will air throughout the NFL regular season and will focus on the crucial ‘turning point’ moment in several games for football fans each week in a more in-depth way than ever before by utilizing NFL Films’ unmatched cinematography and sideline and on-field audio.
This week’s episode features:
- Focus on the Turning Point in the 4-0 Detroit Lions stunning comeback against the Dallas Cowboys.
- Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Head Coach Mike McCarthy mic’d for sound.
- Focus on the Turning Point of the Texans 17-10 win over the Steelers.
- Rodney and Tony take an in-depth look at this week’s Sunday Night Football matchup, focusing on quarterbacks Rodgers and Ryan.
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NBC SPORTSTALK ON VERSUS FOCUSES ON FOOTBALL ON MONDAY AND FRIDAY, 6 p.m. ET
Hosted by Russ Thaler, NBC SportsTalk, the new daily studio show on VERSUS, previews the NFL weekend on Friday at 6 p.m. ET with two of the most knowledgeable and respected NFL insiders, Peter King of Sports Illustrated and Football Night in America and Mike Florio of PreFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and Football Night. Additionally, Gregg Rosenthal of Rotoworld and ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com will contribute a fantasy segment each Friday.
Monday’s NBC SportsTalk program hosted by Thaler and Florio (6 p.m. ET) will recap the week in the NFL.
Click here for more details about NBC SportsTalk: http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/sports
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SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL EXPANDS DIGITAL COVERAGE
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL ALL-ACCESS. ALL SEASON LONG: For the second straight season, NBCSports.com is providing a destination for fans dedicated to behind-the-scenes content of Sunday Night Football. SNF All-Access includes exclusive behind-the-scenes photos of the Sunday Night Football production, look-ins on SNF production meetings, Michele Tafoya interviews and conversations with SNF talent.
Visit SNF All-Access at: http://snfallaccess.nbcsports.com/
SNF EXTRA: For the fourth consecutive season, the entire Sunday Night Football schedule is streamed live on NBCSports.com, which comes from NBC Sports’ broadcast of Sunday Night Football, plus four additional camera angles and several new interactive features. Sunday Night Football Extra features the broadcast from NBC’s Sunday Night Football team: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth and Michele Tafoya.
Sunday Night Football Extra employs a full HD-quality player, which includes a draggable picture-in-picture feature for any of the online-only cameras, plus full DVR functionality allowing the user to pause and scroll back-and-forth – even review plays in “slo-mo.”
New for the 2011 season, Sunday Night Football Extra will feature online-only sideline updates and tweets from Tafoya, plus behind-the-scenes notes and images thanks to Sunday Night Football All-Access. Users can also share direct links to any play in the game via Twitter and Facebook, and participate in a Twitter Tug of War with fans of the opposing team.
Sunday Night Football Extra includes expert analysis, including fantasy tips from Rotoworld fantasy experts as well as in-game chats and analysis from ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio. Additionally Sunday Night Football Extra employs online-only in-game analysis from the Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America teams.
SNF ON FACEBOOK: Facebook.com/SNFonNBC – The Sunday Night Football Facebook page provides links, photos and videos exclusive to behind-the-scenes at SNF every week. The page aggregates all SNF-related content found within the NBC Sports digital network, including NBCSports.com, SNF Extra, ProFootballTalk.com, and Rotoworld.com.
This season, Sunday Night Football on Facebook is looking for the Ultimate Sunday Night Football fan. Facebook fans of SNF can enter for a chance to win a VIP trip to Super Bowl XLVI by telling why they are the Ultimate Sunday Night Football fan. Each week, 14 winners will be chosen to receive a SNF Prize Pack. During Wild Card Saturday, the weekly winner with the most votes will be announced and awarded a VIP trip and tickets to Super Bowl XLVI. The contest begins on September 8.
SNF ON TWITTER: twitter.com/SNFonNBC – At @SNFonNBC this year, Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya will tweet from the sideline giving her perspective on injury reports to exclusive real-time game updates. Using tweets, twitpics and twitvids @SNFonNBC, will also continue to provide unique content with SNF talent, production crew and NFL players. It will also alert followers about upcoming interviews and features that will appear on Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football broadcasts.
SOCIAL CHECK-INS: Sunday Night Football is new this season on GetGlue and foursquare. Fans watching Sunday Night Football at home will have the opportunity to win weekly SNF themed stickers and chances at real-world prizes by checking into SNF on GetGlue every Sunday night. Through foursquare, fans can check-in to stadiums and venues around the country and receive tips and tune-in information from SNF as Sunday Night Football rolls into their town.
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“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” VIEWERSHIP NOTES
SNF STARTS STRONG: Through the first four weeks of the NFL season (four Sunday’s and one Thursday), Sunday Night Football is averaging 23.2 million viewers, the most through this point in the season in the six-year history of SNF.
- The four-week average household rating of 13.9/22 is one percent higher than last year’s 13.7/23 and 10 percent ahead of 2009 (12.6/21) through the same point in the season.
· The critically acclaimed Football Night in America is averaging 9.5 million viewers and a household rating of 5.8/10 (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET) through the first four weeks, up 10 percent and nine percent, respectively, from last year’s first four weeks.
SNF 5-FOR-5: With 18.9 million viewers for Jets-Ravens, Sunday Night Football starts the season five-for-five versus its competition. This continues a trend for SNF dominating Sunday nights. Last season, “Sunday Night Football” was the No. 1 show all 18 nights (100 percent) vs. its competition (16 Sundays, one Tuesday and one Thursday).
- 2011 – 5 of 5 (Four Sundays, one Thursday – 100 percent)
- 2010 – 18 of 18 (16 Sundays, one Tuesday and one Thursday – 100 percent)
- 2009 – 15 of 16 Sundays (94 percent)
- 2008 – 13 of 16 Sundays (81 percent)
- 2007 – 11 of 16 Sundays (69 percent)
- 2006 – nine of 16 Sundays (56 percent)
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REMAINING 2011 “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” SCHEDULE
Sun. Oct. 9 Week 5 Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons
Sun. Oct. 16 Week 6 Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Sun. Oct. 23 Week 7 Indianapolis Colts at New Orleans Saints
Sun. Oct. 30 Week 8 Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Sun. Nov. 6 Week 9 Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sun. Nov. 13 Week 10 New England Patriots at New York Jets
Sun. Nov. 20 *Week 11 Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
Sun. Nov. 27 *Week 12 Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs
Sun. Dec. 4 *Week 13 Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots
Sun. Dec. 11 *Week 14 New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Sun. Dec. 18 *Week 15 Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers
Sun. Dec. 25 *Week 16 Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers
Sun. Jan. 1 *Week 17 TBA
*Flex Week
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–NBC SPORTS GROUP–
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