For the second year in a row, the Golden Globes will get a boost from NFL playoff football.
This weekend, the annual awards show follows the NFL’s NFC Wild Card game when the Philadelphia Eagles welcome the Seattle Seahawks into Lincoln Financial Field, which is a “Sunday Night Football” on NBC production. The game kicks off at 4:40 p.m. ET, with the Globes slated to start at 8/7c.
The only risk in putting a live sporting event so close to the beginning of another live event is what happens if a game goes longer than expected and starts to bleed into the Golden Globes’ time slot? While NBC would probably be okay with that — a close finish to an NFL playoff game would mean gargantuan TV ratings — the show would be held back for the game to finish. A person with knowledge of the broadcast told TheWrap that both the game and the show will be aired in its entirety.
NBC faced the same quandary last year when the Eagles outlasted the Chicago Bears 16-15, which ended just before the 8 p.m. ET start time for the Golden Globes. That helped the Globes grow 6% in ratings last year (more on that here).
Wild Card Weekend’s late-afternoon Sunday slot, which has historically gone to Fox, is usually the most-watched game of the playoffs’ opening round (and of the NFL season-to-date). NBC’s broadcast last year of the infamous “double doink” game between the Eagles and Bears drew 35.9 million viewers.