NBC Sports is prepared to begin a new year of Sunday Night Football as the National Football League season kicks off next week, coming off its 12th consecutive year as prime time television’s No. 1 program in all key metrics. The broadcast booth of play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, color commentator Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Melissa Stark begin their second year working together, along with coordinating producer Rob Hyland.
The marquee sports property has had flex scheduling ability since 2006, allowing for the network to move a specific game into the prime-time slot with appropriate notice during select weeks in the season. It was introduced to ensure that the exclusive windows had a captivating game in order to engender better ratings, and thus more revenue across the board.
“We’re tasked with putting on the best product every Sunday night, and we hope we are giving the viewer the best game every Sunday night that we can,” Hyland said. “I think the landscape has gotten obviously more competitive… but we will do the absolute same job with any game on our schedule.”
When the National Football League agreed to a new 11-year media rights deal worth more than $12 billion per year across various networks, Sunday Night Football lost its exclusive flex scheduling ability. Monday Night Football on ESPN, featuring the lead commentary team of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters, became the second property to garner flex scheduling power.
During the NFL offseason, Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football with Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung gained the ability twice per year, leading into the first NFL season where three properties can flex schedule games.
NBC Sports can flex schedule twice between Week 5 and 10 and at the discretion of the league between Weeks 11 and 17. ESPN can flex games between Week 12 and 17, while Prime Video can do so between Weeks 13 and 17. National Football League Chief Media and Business Officer Brian Rolapp shared that since 2006, Sunday Night Football has flexed games an average of one-and-a-half times per season.
“I hope the NFL works with us if one of our games doesn’t pan out the way it looks today… when we get there,” Hyland said. “But again, we expect and are hopeful that our schedule will hold up and that we don’t need to flex, but we understand the landscape is now different.”
Collinsworth formerly worked with Al Michaels in the Sunday Night Football commentary booth for 15 seasons, bringing fans signature matchups from week to week. Over the last several years, there has been a sustained level of parity within the sport and plenty of compelling storylines to follow. Last season, Michaels bemoaned parts of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football schedule, saying in an interview with The Athletic, “I can’t sell a used car.” For Collinsworth, he values having an entertaining matchup in the Sunday Night Football slot.
“I don’t want a bad game in prime time,” Collinsworth said. “At least if you’re watching at 1 or 4, you can always flip around and find a different game if the one you’re watching is not very good, but if they put a bad game in prime time, you feel a little cheated. There’s only one game on; there’s nowhere to go. Yes, I work in the NFL, but first and foremost I’m a fan. I like watching the games, and I want to see the best games.”
NBC Sports will broadcast the kickoff game next Thursday night between the Detroit Lions and defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Three nights later, the premiere of Sunday Night Football takes place from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. when Daniel Jones and the New York Giants host Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
Coverage begins with Football Night in America at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST featuring host Maria Taylor and analysts Tony Dungy, Devin McCourty, Jason Garrett and Rodney Harrison among others. Tirico, Collinsworth and Stark bring viewers the action starting at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST, complete with a new show open featuring country music superstar Carrie Underwood.
