In a groundbreaking move for the National Football League (NFL), history will be made as the league broadcasts a postseason game exclusively on a streaming service for the first time ever. This Saturday’s nightcap of the Super Wild Card Weekend doubleheader, featuring the Miami Dolphins against the Kansas City Chiefs, will be available solely on the NBC Universal-owned streaming service, Peacock. Notably, this game will not be broadcast on free over-the-air television except for viewers in the local television markets of the respective teams.
For fans across the country, the exclusive broadcast on Peacock comes with a subscription cost starting at $5.99 per month. This departure from traditional free over-the-air television reflects a strategic move by the NFL, signaling a shift in how the league plans to reach its audience.
The NFL previously experimented with exclusive streaming of playoff games in 2015 when the Carolina Panthers faced the Arizona Cardinals. However, that one-year experiment on ESPN exclusively was short-lived, as the league returned to simulcasting on ABC due to lower ratings. Since then, no playoff game has been omitted from broadcast television until now, marking a significant shift in the league’s broadcasting strategy.
This is what happens when the NFL lets Peacock, a streaming platform, air an NFL game 😂 pic.twitter.com/tJs72zxiCq
— Dave Weasel (@DaveWeasel) January 14, 2024
The decision to exclusively stream the game on Peacock stems from a $110 million deal struck last year between NBC Universal and the NFL. The deal granted NBC Universal the rights to broadcast a wild card game exclusively on Peacock for a one-year trial period. This move aligns with the NFL’s broader strategy of incorporating exclusive streaming rights in its new television contract, seen in the regular season with games on Amazon Prime, ESPN+, and Peacock.
Live sports have played a pivotal role in Peacock’s growth, making it an attractive platform for the NFL to test this innovative approach. NBCUniversal’s decision to forgo free trials for Peacock during this period underscores the significance of this trial run and its potential impact on the future of sports broadcasting.
Technically, three NFL playoff games are set to stream on Peacock this weekend, including the highly anticipated Dolphins vs. Chiefs matchup. The Saturday 4:30 p.m. game between the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans, the Saturday 8 p.m. Dolphins vs. Chiefs game, and the Sunday 8 p.m. matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions will all be available on Peacock. However, it’s worth noting that two of these games will also be broadcast on NBC.
In the broader context of the playoff television deal, NBC holds the rights to the Saturday afternoon game this year, part of an annual rotation between CBS, Fox, and NBC. NBC also has the rights to the Sunday night game in year three of a seven-year contract. CBS and Fox, on the other hand, hold rights to the Sunday afternoon wild card games, and ESPN is in the third year of a five-year deal to broadcast a Monday night wild card game. The exclusive Peacock game, however, was negotiated separately from this package.
The success of this streaming experiment hinges on subscription numbers and viewership. With NBC reporting 5.7 million viewers for the December 23 Saturday night game exclusively on Peacock, there’s a strong likelihood that the NFL might consider similar streaming arrangements for future playoff games if subscriptions and viewership numbers continue to soar. The outcome of this one-year trial could potentially reshape the landscape of sports broadcasting, marking a pivotal moment in the convergence of traditional television and digital streaming platforms.
Dolphins fans after buying a Peacock subscription to watch their generational offense score a total of 7 points pic.twitter.com/5mPoUSrnr9
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) January 14, 2024
