NBC shows 49ers-Patriots on other outlets while Obama addresses Newtown

Football took a back seat to tragedy Sunday night.

NBC cut away from the first quarter of the highly anticipated San Francisco 49ers-New England Patriots game to carry President Barack Obama's address to the nation and people of Newtown, Conn. — 150 miles to the west of Foxborough, Mass. — just two days after more than two dozen people were cut down by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

NBC returned to the game with about six minutes left in the first quarter and the 49ers leading 7-0.

The Sunday Night Football broadcast was simulcast on NBC Sports Network and CNBC while the president spoke at an interfaith service in Newtown.