Coverage Begins with a Special On-Location Edition of Football Night in America at 3 p.m. ET; Followed by 4:30 p.m. ET Game Time
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App to Live Stream All Sunday Night Football Games to Desktops, Tablets, Connected TVs, and Mobile Devices
Leading Up to this Saturday’s Game, Fans Can Play NBC Sports’ ”Sunday Night 7” Free-to-Play Game Featuring $2 Million in Guaranteed Cash Prizes
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 8, 2020 – Jimmy Garoppolo and the No. 1-seed San Francisco 49ers (13-3) will host Kirk Cousins and the No. 6 Minnesota Vikings (11-6) on Saturday in the NFC Divisional Playoffs on NBC. Coverage begins with a special on-location edition of Football Night in America at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, followed by kickoff at 4:30 p.m. ET from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
Saturday’s game will mark the sixth all-time postseason meeting between the 49ers and Vikings, with San Francisco holding a 4-1 advantage. The teams last met in Minnesota in Week 1 of the 2018 season, when Minnesota topped San Francisco, 24-16, behind Cousins’ two touchdown passes and wide receiver Adam Thielen’s 102 receiving yards.
Calling Vikings-49ers is Al Michaels (play-by-play), in his record 34th season as the voice of the NFL’s premier primetime package; 16-time Emmy Award-winner Cris Collinsworth; and three-time Emmy Award-winning sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. Three-time Super Bowl referee and SNF rules analyst Terry McAulay joins Michaels and Collinsworth in the booth.
A special 90-minute edition of Football Night in America will be on-site from Levi’s Stadium, showcasing the atmosphere surrounding the 49ers’ first playoff game at this stadium, with host Mike Tirico, co-host Liam McHugh, analysts Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, and Chris Simms, and NFL Insider Mike Florio.
Special features during FNIA will include:
- A Tirico interview with former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan and his wife, Peggy, about their son, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan;
- A profile of 49ers tight end George Kittle, featuring an interview with Kittle and his parents;
- A Tony Dungy conversation with Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins;
- An interview with legends from both teams: Former Vikings Hall of Fame Head Coach Bud Grant and four-time Super Bowl Champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott;
- Multiple set locations inside and outside the stadium as well as locker room reports and arrival interviews.
In last weekend’s Wild Card round, the Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints, 26-20, in overtime on a four-yard touchdown pass from Cousins to tight end Kyle Rudolph. Cousins passed for 242 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the win, while running back Dalvin Cook, who ranked third in the NFC in rushing yards (1,135) and rushing touchdowns (13) this season, had 130 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. The victory marked the Vikings’ first road playoff win in 15 years, when they defeated Green Bay, 31-17, at Lambeau Field on January 9, 2005.
Garoppolo, who is making his first career postseason start on Saturday, is 21-5 as a starter in his career and tied for fifth in the NFL this season with a career-high 27 touchdown passes. The 49ers, who are the NFC’s No. 1 seed for the first time since 1997, ranked in the top five in the NFL in both total offense (4th with 381.1 yards per game) and total defense (2nd with 281.8 yards allowed per game).
The Vikings and 49ers placed a combined four players on the AP All-Pro First and Second Teams this season:
- Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks (First-Team)
- San Francisco tight end George Kittle (First-Team)
- San Francisco interior lineman DeForest Buckner (Second-Team)
- San Francisco cornerback Richard Sherman (Second-Team)
NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by executive producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff. FNIA is produced by Rob Hyland and directed by Mike Sheehan.
NBC SPORTS’ “SUNDAY NIGHT 7” FREE-TO-PLAY GAME FEATURES $2 MILLION GUARANTEED PRIZES
Leading up to this Saturday’s NFC Divisional Playoff, fans can participate in NBC Sports’ free-to-play game, Sunday Night 7, which features $2 million in guaranteed cash prizes over the course of the regular season and NBC NFL playoff games ($100,000 in guaranteed prizes for each contest). Sunday Night 7 is available for download NOW on the NBC Sports Predictor app (available for download in the App Store and Google Play Store) and at NBCSports.com/Predictor.
Last week, seven fans scored tied for first place with 65 out of a possible 70 points in Sunday Night 7, winning $9,700 each.
NBCSPORTS.COM & NBC SPORTS APP TO LIVE STREAM ALL NBC NFL GAMES:
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream all NBC NFL games to desktops, tablets, mobile devices 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. Powered by Playmaker Media, the NBC Sports app is available on Apple iOS, Android and select Samsung devices, as well as on Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Win10, PlayStation and Xbox.
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. King signed an exclusive agreement with NBC Sports Group last year that included writing a weekly Monday morning NFL column for NBCSports.com, making regular appearances on NBCSN’s and NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live with Florio, and continuing to contribute to Football Night in America, the most-watched studio show in sports.
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, Paul Burmeister and Liam McHugh, 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.
ROTOWORLD
Rotoworld offers comprehensive fantasy football coverage throughout the 2019 NFL season across NBC Sports’ platforms. The all-new 2019 Rotoworld Fantasy Football Draft Guide, which includes mobile optimization, an updated website design, and improved tools, is now available for purchase on Rotoworld.com. In addition, Rotoworld experts dive into fan questions on “Rotoworld Live” every Sunday at Noon ET on the NBC Sports app and YouTube.com/NBCSports. Rotoworld also presents comprehensive fantasy content, including a panel of experts answering fans’ questions on Twitch three times a week, a Waiver Wire Q&A (Tuesdays), a DFS Q&A (Thursdays), and a Rankings Q&A (Fridays).
PFT LIVE – WEEKDAYS AT 7 A.M. ET ON NBCSN
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 on NBCSN at 7 a.m. ET. Peter King will also contribute regularly to PFT Live’s coverage throughout the regular season.
The two-hour PFT Live provides all-encompassing coverage of the NFL, including the most current news and analysis, thought-provoking debates, and interviews with a wide variety of NFL newsmakers. The program is a simulcast of NBC Sports Radio’s PFT Live national program that airs daily beginning at 6 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 Rotoworld Football. 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 Rotoworld Football explores fantasy implications for fans. For the first time this season, Rotoworld Football will debut four episodes per week, including a new Sunday night episode diving into the weekend’s results. In addition, The Mike Tirico Podcast will debut new episodes throughout the 2019 NFL season featuring exclusive interviews with the league’s top players and personalities. New episodes of NBC Sports podcasts are available for download each week on all major podcast platforms including: NBCSports.com/podcasts, NBC Sports’ Scores app, Apple, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn and iHeart.
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SOCIAL MEDIA
- SNF ON INSTAGRAM: Going into its seventh season, Sunday Night Football gives the SNF fan a look at photos through the filters of Instagram. Fans get a look around each SNF city, as well as access inside the production trucks, the locker rooms, on the field, and on the sideline, as our social media producer captures the best photos of Sunday night and posts in real time. In addition, SNF on Instagram will utilize Instagram stories to maximize fans’ exposure to the Sunday Night Football
- SNF ON TWITTER: Using tweets, photos, and videos, @SNFonNBC provides unique content with SNF talent, production crew and NFL players.
- SNF ON SNAPCHAT: For the second season, NBC Sports’ Snapchat account will be creating content on the platform at each Sunday Night Football game, including Kickoff and from the SNF The NBC Sports Snapchat account will take fans behind the scenes to the FNIA set and around cities where Sunday Night Football comes to town, utilizing lenses and filters to customize content specifically for the Snapchat audience.
- SNF ON FACEBOOK: – At nearly 3.7 million likes strong, the Sunday Night Football Facebook page provides social-first stories, photos and video every week.
NBC SPORTS RADIO
NBC Sports Radio, produced and distributed by Westwood One in partnership with NBC Sports Group, is carried by more than 300 affiliates nationwide. Programming is available on radio stations throughout the United States, as well as on NBCSportsRadio.com, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports Scores app, and on the websites of affiliates. Content includes hourly sports news updates, daily features, and is highlighted by PFT Live, featuring NFL insider and Football Night In America commentator Mike Florio daily from 6-9 a.m. ET; the PFT PM podcast hosted by Florio, which takes a look back at the day that was in the NFL; Safety Blitz with Rodney Harrison and Dan Schwartzman; featuring three-time All Pro and two-time Super Bowl-winner Rodney Harrison; and The Daily Line, NBC Sports Radio’s daily sports talk and betting show that airs M-F 3-7 p.m. ET and features special guests and content for casual and avid sports fans. Fans can follow @NBCSportsRadio to listen live or on demand, or visit www.NBCSportsRadio.com.
SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL BUS RETURNS FOR 2019 NFL SEASON
NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football bus returned this season to travel the country, visiting the host cities of each Sunday Night Football game. In addition, the SNF Bus will also visit markets along the route without an SNF game on the schedule to give more fans a chance to join in on the experience. The bus will arrive in each host city two to three days prior to the game, making stops at local landmarks and events before heading to the game site. Once at the stadium, the Sunday Night Football bus will give fans the opportunity to interact with America’s most-watched primetime television show with exclusive activities and experiences.
For the first time ever, fans will be able to record content on the bus to share directly to their social platforms, with new experiences including augmented reality mirrors in the locker room and a green screen booth to replicate the iconic player intros in the SNF broadcast.
In addition, fan favorites returning to the bus include the official Player of the Game Ball signed at the end of every SNF matchup, a replica Football Night in America desk, and a brand new On Her Turf photo experience celebrating the power of every football fan.
| 2019 NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SCHEDULE | ||
| Sat. Jan. 11 | NFC Divisional | No. 6 Vikings at No. 1 49ers |
– SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL –