NBC Turns Sunday Nights into a Year-Round Home for Premium Sports on Broadcast

In 2026, NBC airs premium sports programming year-round on Sunday nights, anchored by "Sunday Night Football," "Sunday Night Basketball," and "Sunday Night Baseball."

NBCUniversal has been bringing sports to American audiences since the very beginning of television. Nearly a century ago, NBC aired the first televised sporting event in the United States-starting a tradition of sharing big, can't-miss moments with viewers at home.

Today, that legacy continues with the most dominant franchise in television: NBC's Sunday Night Football, which has ranked as primetime's #1 show for an unprecedented 15 consecutive years.

NBCUniversal is now building on that success across the sports landscape. In 2026, NBC will deliver 1,025 hours of sports programming, more than any other broadcast network and nearly double its primetime sports broadcast hours from eight years ago.

A look at the premium sports programming anchoring NBC's Sunday night schedule:

NBC's Sunday Night Football ranks first in primetime for unprecedented 15th year

Sunday Night Football remains the cornerstone of this lineup and has ranked as primetime's number one show for 15 consecutive years - adding to its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel. On NBC broadcast stations, Sunday Night Football topped all primetime shows in average viewership and household rating, and for the 17th consecutive season ranked #1 among adults 18-49.

The 2026 schedule for NBC Sunday Night Football, features high-profile matchups featuring the biggest stars, best storylines, and epic rivalries - including the "Rivalry of the Decade" featuring Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs at Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving night, and the Dallas Cowboys at the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 18.

In addition, NBC will be home to an extra NFL regular season game in the 2026 season -- a key Week 17 matchup in the run up to the NFL Playoffs - on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET.

See the full schedule for Sunday Night Footballhere.

Sunday Night Baseball returns to broadcast television on NBC

The new Sunday Night Baseball package marksthe return of Major League Baseball to NBC for the first time in more than two decades. The debut marks the beginning of a new three-year partnership between NBCUniversal and Major League Baseball and it comes on the heels of the debut season of Sunday Night Basketball, the first of an 11-year agreement between NBCU and the NBA.

For the first time in 25 years, NBC affiliates will carry live MLB games, and, for the first time ever, the MLB Draft and All-Star Futures Game will air on broadcast television on NBC. This partnership has delivered immediate impact, with NBC posting the largest MLB Opening Day audience on record for a multi game presentation by a single network. The Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers matchup was the most watched MLB Opening Day primetime game since 2017 and delivered the largest Thursday MLB audience on record in the first half of the season.

Beginning May 31, thirteen consecutive Sunday Night Baseball games - featuring the some of the sport's most storied rivalries - will appear on the NBC broadcast network.

NBA on NBC drives viewership milestones

NBC Sports' return to the NBA has produced significant audience growth in its first season, driven largely by the reach of broadcast television on NBC. Across Sunday and Tuesday night regular-season windows, plus select Monday games, coverage on NBC averaged substantial year-over-year growth, with broadcast serving as the primary driver of that increase.

Sunday Night Basketball anchored the schedule, ranking as the most-watched Sunday NBA package in more than a decade. Tentpole events further reinforced the strength of the broadcast platform, including NBA Tip-Off, which delivered its best audience performance in years, and the NBA All-Star Game, which posted strong year-over-year gains.

That momentum has continued into the postseason, where NBC has continued to deliver strong audience performance. Across its playoff coverage spanning the First Round and Conference Semifinals, NBC is delivering substantial year-over-year audience growth versus comparable coverage last season. Signature broadcasts helped define the run, from the record-setting 76ers-Celtics Game 7 following the Kentucky Derby to the thrilling double-overtime Spurs-Thunder opener, now the most-watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 ever.

From football to baseball to basketball, Sunday nights are once again a destination for the biggest moments in sports on broadcast television, continuing a long-standing tradition of bringing can't-miss events into homes across America.

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