As Sunday Night Football prepares for one of its most highly anticipated games of the 2025 NFL season, NBC is taking its weekly pregame show on the road.
Awful Announcing has learned that Sunday’s episode of Football Night in America will air live from Arlington, Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys will host the Green Bay Packers in primetime. College basketball play-by-play man John Fanta will also join the broadcast, providing highlights and updates from the network’s studio in Stamford, Conn.
Fanta’s Football Night in America debut comes just weeks after he left Fox to join NBC, where he’ll serve as the lead play-by-play voice of its Big East coverage. In his new job at NBC, the Cleveland, Ohio, native is also contributing to NBC Sports’ Notre Dame football and Big Ten basketball coverage in a studio role.
NBC’s decision to take Football Night in America on-location follows a recent trend of NFL pregame shows traveling for their most highly anticipated games, with Fox and CBS having also done so earlier this season. In addition to Football Night in America, Sunday’s episode of NBC Sports’ daily fantasy football and betting show, Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry, will also air live from Arlington at 11 a.m. ET on Peacock and the NFL on NBC YouTube Channel.
Moving forward, it will be worth monitoring how often NBC opts to take Football Night in America on-the road more frequently (it has previously done so for Kickoff Games and on special occasions), especially amid a season that will conclude with the network broadcasting Super Bowl LX. If nothing else, the addition of Fanta — who is widely considered on the best young broadcasters — gives NBC the versatility to add a new dynamic to the program if it chooses to embrace such an approach moving forward.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.