NBC criticized for airing seconds of Lindsey Stirling’s halftime show

Lindsey Stirling closed out the NFL’s Thanksgiving slate of halftime entertainment with her performance during the Green Bay Packers vs. Miami Dolphins game.

Viewers watching the contest at home were barely able to see the talented violinist and dancer in action.

Rather than broadcast Stirling’s halftime show on Thursday night, NBC broadcast a feature about Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold. The package tracked Ingold’s origins as a Green Bay native, and adoptee, ahead of his homecoming.

After cutting to commercial, NBC showed a quick highlight of Stirling’s performance. The clip lasted mere seconds before the network cut to commercial again in preparation for the second half.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

NFL fans and entertainment aficionados were naturally upset and confused that they weren’t able to see the former ‘America’s Got Talent’ contestant in action. After all, NBC’s competitors both aired the halftime shows during the Thanksgiving games of their broadcasts, with CBS showing Shaboozey’s Detroit Lions concert in its entirety while Fox did the same with Lainey Wilson’s Dallas Cowboys showcase.

As a result, many took to social media to voice their discontent with NBC:

Neither NBC nor Stirling has commented on the halftime show not being broadcast. Stirling posted to social media before the game that she was excited to perform in her first NFL halftime show.

This isn’t the first time that NBC has chosen not to broadcast the entirety of a Thanksgiving halftime show. The network showed just seconds of Steve Aoki’s halftime show at the San Francisco 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks game on the holiday in 2023.

All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.