NBCUniversal is "trying to widen the audience" for “SNF” with a series of promos that "burnish the pigskin showcase among not only sports fans but also celebrity-watchers and current-affairs aficionados," according to Brian Steinberg of VARIETY. The video vignettes, which appeared online yesterday and debut on TV this weekend in preseason NFL coverage, feature "various NBCU celebrities" all taking part in fake tryouts to sing the "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night" theme song. Celebs appearing in the spots include Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Joan and Melissa Rivers, Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales and Ken Jeong. Country singer Carrie Underwood was selected in May "to warble the song." NBC Sports Group CMO John Miller said, "Our goal is to be as welcoming and as broad as we possibly can." He expects the new series of promos to "appeal to women as well as the usual male crowd that usually tunes in for football." Miller said that the promos will be "among those that get top priority among various NBCU networks." He added, "Because NBC’s Fall is now the cross-promotional priority for the company, and because SNF is the number-one show for NBC, it gets a certain amount of existing weight on all the channels." But Steinberg noted the company will "likely tailor the spots for the network on which they appear." The promos also are "likely to run" on NBCSN as well as Golf Channel. Miller said that the promo marks "the return of an original promo to draw attention to football." NBCU in '12, with its telecast of the Summer Olympics in full swing, "made use of a promo created" by the NFL. NBC Sports Senior VP/Marketing Bill Bergofin said that the only celebrity execs "couldn’t wrangle was Jimmy Fallon." He had to "decline owing to the recent birth of his daughter" (
VARIETY.com, 8/20).
| NFL GAME VIEWERSHIP TREND ON NBC |
| YEAR | AVG. VIEWERS (000) |
| '12 | 21,463 |
| '11 | 21,542 |
| '10 | 21,848 |
| '09 | 19,418 |
| '08 | 16,638 |
