Harlem, The NFL Cancels Sunday Night Football This Week On NBC

December 28, 2017

Deadline reports that if you were planning on watching Sunday Night Football this week on NBC as you readied to ring in the New Year, you’ll need to make other plans. The NFL has canceled the final SNF game of the season, which would have aired on New Year’s Eve. It would have been the first Sunday night football game on New Year’s Eve since 2006, when the Chicago Bears hosted the Green Bay Packers.

The reason why can be summed in up in one word: Ratings.

The reason why can be summed in up in one word: Ratings.

The traditional night-game finale usually ends with two playoff contenders. The NFL hadn’t yet decided which teams would play in the Sunday night game, but none met the criteria for a must-watch showdown. It’s also New Year’s Eve, and would likely draw fewer eyeballs than usual. Instead, the afternoon will be blanketed with grid-iron coverage, with seven games scheduled for 1 PM and an unusual nine games scheduled for 4:25 PM kickoffs, with no 8:30 PM game this year.

“We felt that both from a competitive standpoint and from a fan perspective, the most fair thing to do is to schedule all Week 17 games in either the 1 p.m. or 4:25 p.m. ET windows,” NFL senior vice president of broadcasting Howard Katz said in a statement to media outlets. “This ensures that we do not have a matchup on Sunday Night Football on New Year’s Eve that because of earlier results has no playoff implications for one or both of the competing teams.”

All of Sunday’s games will be broadcast on CBS or Fox. There has been no immediate comment on whether the network will be compensated for the lost broadcast. In its place, NBC will air Dateline NBC from 7-9 PM and The Wall from 9-11 PM. Unlike other weeks of the season, the NFL has the sole discretion about the scheduling of the final Sunday night game of the year.

The move brings to a close what has been a tough year for the NFL and ratings, which are down 9% from 2016.


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Harlem World Magazine, 2521 1/2 west 42nd street, Los Angeles, CA, 90008, https://www.harlemworldmagazine.com. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact
We're your source for local coverage, we count on your support. SPONSOR US!
Your support is crucial in maintaining a healthy democracy and quality journalism. With your contribution, we can continue to provide engaging news and free access to all.
accepted credit cards

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles