NFL Canceling 'Sunday Night Football' for First Time Since 2006

The NFL will cancel the final edition of "NBC Sunday Night Football" for the 2017 season, the first such move since 2006.

Sunday is New Year's Eve, though TVWeb.com noted "the fact that NFL football has taken a big hit in the ratings department this season" was also a factor.

Howard Katz, NFL senior vice president of broadcasting, said Monday in statement via Twitter:

ICYMI NFL finalizes week 17 games

“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,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Broadcasting Howard Katz. pic.twitter.com/f1Hz7RYPqb

— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) December 25, 2017

"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," Katz said.

The games played in those Sunday time slots will be broadcast on Fox and CBS, according to the report.

Overall, NFL ratings have been in decline this season, down 9 percent from last year, TVWeb.com reported.

NBC will instead air "Dateline NBC" and "The Wall" in place of the game, according to the report.

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