Dick Ebersol helped change comedy and late-night television when he teamed up with Lorne Michaels to create 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥 in 1975.
When it comes to sports television, Ebersol鈥檚 creation of 鈥淪unday Night Football鈥 on NBC in 2006 also has had a significant impact.
It is fitting then that both are celebrating milestones this year. in February, while 鈥淪unday Night Football鈥 is in its 20th season.
鈥淲e were really aware that we weren鈥檛 just doing a football game, we were doing an important football game, that we would have all the bells and whistles,鈥 Ebersol said about 鈥淪unday Night Football鈥 before accepting the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
This week鈥檚 game is a full-circle moment as the . SNF began at the Meadowlands complex in 2006 with the 鈥淢anning Bowl,鈥 when Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts faced younger brother Eli and the Giants.
鈥淪unday Night Football鈥 has been the highest-rated prime-time show for 14 consecutive seasons. The next closest was 鈥淎merican Idol鈥, which had a six-year streak from 2005-06 to the 2010-11 television season.
NBC鈥檚 first three games this season 鈥 including the 鈥 are averaging 24.9 million viewers for its best start since 2015.
The Sunday night package put NBC back in the NFL. NBC was without pro football for eight seasons, from 1998 to 2005, after CBS took over the AFC package.
The late Pat Bowlen, who owned the Denver Broncos and chaired the NFL鈥檚 broadcast committee, called Ebersol in 2004 to gauge his interest.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 exceeded everyone鈥檚 even very high expectations going in, and they鈥檝e gone through the roof,鈥 said Hans Schroeder, the NFL鈥檚 executive vice president of media distribution. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e really never stopped innovating and focused on how to make Sunday night feel like a huge event and a great way to end the day.鈥
Mike Tirico called 鈥淢onday Night Football鈥 on ESPN from 2006 through 鈥15 before joining NBC in 2016. He was the host of 鈥淔ootball Night in America鈥 until taking over as the play-by-play announcer from Al Michaels in 2022.
Cris Collinsworth, who got his start at NBC after retiring as a player, returned to the network in 2006. He was on the studio show for three years before moving into the booth in 2009 after John Madden鈥檚 retirement.
Even though MNF had a 35-plus-year head start as the NFL鈥檚 seminal prime-time package, Tirico said it didn’t take long for SNF to supplant it because of the matchups and feel of the broadcast.
鈥淚 think 鈥楽unday Night Football鈥 has become everything 鈥楳onday Night Football鈥 was and more now in a much more saturated TV environment,鈥 Tirico said. 鈥淪o I think without Monday night, you don鈥檛 have what Sunday night has, but it took a special group of people, great planning and purpose to get Sunday night to where it is now. This run of being the No. 1 show in prime-time television for almost a decade and a half now, that鈥檚 extraordinary.鈥
Fred Gaudelli, who produced 鈥淪unday Night Football鈥 from 2006 through 2022 after working on 鈥淢onday Night Football鈥 for five years, said the success of Sunday night鈥檚 package at the start was due to Ebersol鈥檚 constant attention to the game schedule.
鈥淭here鈥檚 never been a network president, I鈥檓 very confident in saying this, that made the schedule a bigger priority than Dick Ebersol did,鈥 said Gaudelli, the executive producer for the past three seasons. 鈥淚f you check our schedules like the first five or six years, I think we had (Tom) Brady versus (Peyton) Manning four of the five times, and we had all the big Cowboys games. So all of a sudden, every Sunday night is a big game. Monday night was ingrained in the American culture, but literally within two or three years, we had reversed it.鈥
Something that Gaudelli sold Ebersol on, though, was having a musical open to the show, especially when Gaudelli mentioned how much NBC could earn from having a sponsor.
Gaudelli went to his iPod, heard Joan Jett鈥檚 鈥淚 Hate Myself for Loving You,鈥 and started to come up with lyrics that have been a staple of the show. Pink performed 鈥淲aiting All Day for Sunday Night鈥 before it switched to Faith Hill and now Carrie Underwood.
鈥淚鈥檝e had a front-row seat as the team created a sports presentation that went far beyond sports, with the integration of storytelling, pop culture and a musical show open that has become iconic,鈥 NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said.
Sunday night also introduced flex scheduling, allowing a less-appealing matchup late in the season to be swapped for a better game with at least 12 days鈥 notice. The only exception is the final week of the regular season, when the matchup is set one week out to ensure the final game has playoff implications.
Flex scheduling has expanded to Monday and Thursday nights.
Even though Ebersol left as president of NBC Sports in 2011, many of his innovations and attention to storytelling still resonate.
鈥淚 had been at NBC for almost 10 years prior to starting on 鈥楽unday Night Football鈥. You do a good show, get a pat on the back and move on to the next show,鈥 said Rob Hyland, the coordinating producer of SNF. 鈥淭his was so different in that we basically did forensics on our presentation each week, during the season, during the offseason, and it really helped me learn that the standard for this show, even from Day 1, was going to be different than anything I鈥檇 ever worked on.
鈥淣othing has changed in terms of that standard. It鈥檚 only gotten higher.鈥
NBC has aired Sunday night games from 40 stadiums, with Dallas playing in the most games in the series at 61. The most-viewed game was the 2012 season finale between the Cowboys and Washington, which averaged 30.3 million.
Andy Reid will coach in his 50th Sunday night game this week.
Even though the original Giants Stadium, where the Manning Bowl took place, is now a parking lot, its successor has had a couple of Sunday night moments since opening in 2010. That included when the Giants took on the Cowboys in 2014.
鈥淵ou go back to Dick Ebersol one more time, for him to create that kind of late relationship with the league and understand that more eyeballs were naturally on Sunday night anyway, that if they just put better games and better teams there, that they could end up with the No. 1 television show, which no sports program had ever been the No. 1 show,鈥 Collinsworth said. 鈥淚t was a great collaboration. It was the NFL stepping back and going, 鈥極h, never thought about that.鈥 And Dick making the point.鈥
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