Notre Dame Football on NBC

Notre Dame Football on NBC is a presentation of the Notre Dame football television package on NBC. The television network has broadcast all Notre Dame home games since 1991.

History
Since 1991, NBC has aired all Notre Dame home football games. This has ensured that all of its home games are on national broadcast television, a unique configuration amongst American sports. Most of the games are aired in the afternoon, usually starting at 3:30 EST/EDT. Recently beginning in 2011, one significant home game per year is aired during prime time with a 7:30 EDT start time. The games are typically planned around NBC’s schedule of such events as the Ryder Cup or Breeders' Cup, and include full-game replays on NBC Sports Network, formerly Versus.

In 1991, the initial contract was sold to NBC for $38 million for 5 years or $1.2 million a game. Notre Dame got half of the latter figure and its opponent got the other half.

The 1993 NBC broadcasted game between #1 Florida State and #2 Notre Dame is still the most-watched regular season college football game since 1991.

In June 2008, NBC signed a contract extension, which covered from 2011 through 2015. According to Notre Dame, a portion of the television revenue goes towards academic scholarships.

In 2009, Notre Dame began to play one home game each year at a neutral site outside of Indiana for recruitment and exposure purposes. These games are broadcasted nationally on NBC as part of the television deal with 7:30 EST/EDT start times. This was initiated with a late October 2009 game against Washington State at the Alamodome in San Antonio. A November 2010 matchup against Army at Yankee Stadium, which NBC also televised, was also a Notre Dame home game, despite West Point's proximity to the Tri-State area. Notre Dame battled Miami at Soldier Field in 2012 and will meet Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in 2013.

Although in 2011 NBC Notre Dame game ratings had slumped to historic lows to coincide with average performances on the football field over the past several years, the recent resurgence in the program under Brian Kelly in 2012 has resulted in NBC's highest viewership since 2005.

In 2011, sister channel Versus (now the NBC Sports Network) began airing rebroadcasts of past Notre Dame games, including those aired on NBC over the years. Previously via NBC's rights deal, related cable network Universal HD aired same-week reruns of Notre Dame home games until the January 2011 NBC-Comcast merger. The deal has also been expanded to cover some games of the university's hockey team.

NBC's other college football coverage
NBC broadcast the Rose Bowl from 1952 through 1988. It also broadcast the Orange Bowl from 1965 through 1995. NBC is also the home of the annual "Bayou Classic" between Grambling State University and Southern University at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

As of the 2011-12 season, NBC Sports also holds rights to select Ivy League and Mountain West Conference games through its new sister channel NBC Sports Network.

Current

 * Alex Flanagan: sideline reporter (2007–present)
 * Tom Hammond: play-by-play (1994–1997, 2000–present)
 * Mike Mayock : color commentator (2010–present)

Play-by-play

 * Don Criqui (1994–1997)
 * Dick Enberg (1991; 1993; 1998–1999)
 * Charlie Jones (1993–1997)
 * Dan Hicks (2002; 2011) - Hicks filled in for Tom Hammond (who was recovering from heart surgery) on the November 2, 2002 game against Boston College. In 2011, Hicks again, filled in for Hammond (who this time around, was calling the World Track & Field Championships in Daegu) on the September 3 game against the USF Bulls. In 2012, Hicks again filled in for Hammond (while Hammond called the 2012 Breeders' Cup) on the November 3 game against Pittsburgh.
 * Craig Minervini (2000) - Minervini filled in for Tom Hammond for the September 9, 2000 game against Nebraska, and the following week's game involving Purdue. Hammond was preparing for and subsequently, assigned to work on NBC's Summer Olympic telecasts in Sydney, Australia.

Color commentary

 * Bill Walsh (1991)
 * Cris Collinsworth (1992; 1994)
 * Todd Christensen (1993)
 * Randy Cross (1994–1996)
 * Paul Maguire (1995)
 * Phil Simms (1995)
 * Beasley Reece (1996)
 * Bob Trumpy (1993; 1995–1997)
 * Pat Haden (1998–2010) - left to become athletic director at USC

Sideline reporters

 * Jim Gray
 * Lewis Johnson
 * Lynn Swann