NFL’s First Exclusive Live-Streamed Playoff Game: A Glimpse into the Future

NFL Makes Big Moves wit’ Exclusive Playoff Livestream! 🏈💻

Da onleh place you see reverse happening in da NFL is on da field. Da league, dey no like move backward when it comes to rakin’ in da cash from media rights. If you wen put money down on wheddah Saturday’s first-ever exclusive, live-streamed NFL playoff game goin’ happen again, you bettah go big on da same ting going down in da 2024 postseason.

Hans Schroeder, da NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, almost wen say as much during one conference call wit’ reporters three days before da game.

“As it relates to da wild-card game exclusively, we’re stoked fo’ keep dis convo goin’,” Schroeder mentioned. “Dis stay da deal fo’ dis year, but ‘ey, dis stay one NFL playoff game. I stay ‘spectin’ plenny interest in ’em. We stay stoked fo’ keep dis convo goin’ wit’ NBC fo’ what we go do dis year and see where da opportunities stay fo’ next year.”

No mattah politicians sending out social media posts, no mattah current players stay all worried, and no mattah da real legit fan complaints ’bout havin’ fo’ pay extra fo’ one NFL playoff game, da league, as one entity, stay on one mission — fo’ stay like one ATM fo’ its owners. Dis was one money grab fo’ da now and da future, and in plenny ways, da viewership fo’ da game, eh, it no mattah if da NFL goin’ still sell playoff games to streamers.

Peacock wen pay $110 million fo’ air da Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-7 win ova da Miami Dolphins on Saturday night in da AFC wild-card round, tryin’ fo’ add mo’ to da 30 million subscribers dey stay gettin’. Da strategy fo’ Peacock, same ting fo’ oddah streamers dat air sports, stay fo’ use da exclusivity of one major live sporting event fo’ get plenny people watchin’. Dis stay one strategy dat wen work in da past fo’ linear entities, and Peacock stay stickin’ wit’ its strategy even aftah losing $2.8 billion in 2023. (Peacock stay hopin’ $2.8 billion stay da peak losses.)

But da game wen turn out fo’ be one big hit wit’ viewers. Da number of folks watchin’ on Peacock, NBC stations in Miami and Kansas City, and on mobile wit’ NFL , according to Nielsen custom fast national data, stay 23 million viewers. Dis da most-streamed NFL game evah in da U.S. based on average audience. Da Dolphins-Chiefs game wen hit 24.6 million viewers on average in da second quarter, including da folks watchin’ outside dey homes. Da 23 million viewership average top last year’s least-watched playoff game (Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars, which averaged 20.61 million viewers on NBC) by a couple million viewers. (Fo’ get mo’ big piccha, last year’s six wild-card games ‘cross Fox, CBS, NBC, and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 averaged 28.8 million viewers.)

Daniel Cohen, da executive vice president of global media rights consulting at Octagon, wen tell The Athletic dat da main challenges fo’ subscription video-on-demand growth in da U.S. stay da folks droppin’ da service and piracy. Dis one of da questions dat goin’ get answered in couple months: How many people wen sign up fo’ watch da game, and den how many of those new subscribers wen cancel aftah da game? (Da cheapest option fo’ buy da game stay $5.99 fo’ one one-month premium plan.) Peacock stay on top da iPhone and iPad charts on Saturday night wit’ all da downloads.

NBC, dey wen nat’rally push da Peacock off’rin’ ‘cross da fourth quarter of da Houston Texans’ blowout of da Cleveland Browns earlier Saturday, including showin’ Taylor Swift walkin’ in da guts of Arrowhead Stadium. Da “Football Night In America” gang also wen sell da Peacock game, and dat crew wen give extra coverage at da start of da game on NBC wit’ Ahmed Fareed, Devin McCourty, and Chris Simms providin’ play-by-play on one split screen of da game.

On average, 23 million folks wen watch da Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card game Saturday night, da one dat stream exclusively on Peacock outside da Miami and Kansas City markets. 📺🐬🏈

Rick Cordella, da president of NBC Sports, wen say befo’ da game dat da company’s two main goals stay fo’ make one awesome production and give one clean experience to da users all ‘cross America. No hear ’bout plenny problems wit’ da streamin’, so das one win fo’ Peacock. (Peacock no can control what dey call da last-mile issues, which stay ’bout local cable and internet companies or da personal devices.) How you see da game probably depend on what you tink ’bout Mike Tirico and Jason Garrett and if you tink da payment stay worth it if you new to Peacock. Tirico, he stay solid. Garrett, he stay bringin’ da energy, bettah den Dungy last year, but still plenny oddah NFL analysts mo’ bettah. If you one neutral fan and no rootin’ fo’ Miami or Kansas City, da game, it no stay too memorable.

Peacock’s first exclusive NFL game, da one where da Buffalo Bills wen take down da Chargers on Dec. 23, averaged 7.3 million viewers and hit an average of 8.4 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET during da NFL’s first-ever commercial-free fourth quarter. Da Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game also went commercial-free in da fourth quarter wit’ sponsorship from AWS, Geico, and Hotels.com. Like Anthony Crupi of Sportico wen point out smartly, “Comcast stay mo’ invested in da long-term growth of Peacock than da immediate adrenaline spike dat comes wit’ an extra $18 million to $20 million in commercial cash.”

NBC wen start streaming “Sunday Night Football” on da internet in 2008, and dey wen be da first NFL partner in da U.S. fo’ stream da Super Bowl (in 2012). Peacock, dat goin’ be one natural fit fo’ do dis again.

“We stay on Peacock fo’ several years now, and we stoked wit’ da plan NBC wen bring back and came to us all da way last spring,” Schroeder mentioned. “We stoked wit’ da continued growth dat we see ‘cross our digital distribution, especially wit’ ‘Thursday Night Football’ on Amazon, where dey weekly viewership numbers stay approachin’ last year on TV wit’ Fox and NFL Network.”

Schroeder wen careful fo’ say dat da NFL stay still committed to broadcast television. Das true, but Saturday night did feel like one big moment, one line crossed.

“Dat still stay da broadest possible reach,” Schroeder said. “You no can reach 190 million people ‘cross da year without havin’ real broad distribution of your content, and das always been one bedrock fo’ us and I tink one real differentiator fo’ us versus oddah sports. Every one of our games stay on broadcast television, at least in dey market, and probably 90 percent of our games (stay) on broadcast as dey core platform. Fo’ us, dat stay real important. We see da continued evolution in da media landscape, and we like fo’ be where our fans stay. We know dey stay mo’ and mo’ on different screens.”

Your potential dislike of dis stay understandable, but da NFL no stay goin’ backward. 🚫🔙

NOW IN ENGLISH

NFL’s First Exclusive Live-Streamed Playoff Game: A Glimpse into the Future

NFL Makes Big Moves with Exclusive Playoff Livestream!

The only place you see reverse happening in the NFL is on the field. The league, they don’t like moving backward when it comes to raking in the cash from media rights. If you were to put money down on whether Saturday’s first-ever exclusive, live-streamed NFL playoff game is going to happen again, you better go big on the same thing happening in the 2024 postseason.

Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, almost said as much during one conference call with reporters three days before the game.

“As it relates to the wild-card game exclusively, we’re stoked to keep this convo going,” Schroeder mentioned. “This stays the deal for this year, but hey, this stays one NFL playoff game. I stay expecting plenty of interest in them. We stay stoked to keep this convo going with NBC for what we go do this year and see where the opportunities stay for next year.”

No matter politicians sending out social media posts, no matter current players staying all worried, and no matter the real legit fan complaints about having to pay extra for one NFL playoff game, the league, as one entity, stays on one mission — to stay like one ATM for its owners. This was one money grab for the now and the future, and in plenty of ways, the viewership for the game, eh, it doesn’t matter if the NFL is going to still sell playoff games to streamers.

Peacock went to pay $110 million to air the Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-7 win over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night in the AFC wild-card round, trying to add more to the 30 million subscribers they stay getting. The strategy for Peacock, the same thing for other streamers that air sports, stays to use the exclusivity of one major live sporting event to get plenty of people watching. This stays one strategy that when worked in the past for linear entities, and Peacock stays sticking with its strategy even after losing $2.8 billion in 2023. (Peacock stays hoping $2.8 billion stays the peak losses.)

But the game when turned out to be one big hit with viewers. The number of folks watching on Peacock, NBC stations in Miami and Kansas City, and on mobile with NFL, according to Nielsen custom fast national data, stays 23 million viewers. This the most-streamed NFL game ever in the U.S. based on average audience. The Dolphins-Chiefs game when hit 24.6 million viewers on average in the second quarter, including the folks watching outside their homes. The 23 million viewership average top last year’s least-watched playoff game (Los Angeles Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars, which averaged 20.61 million viewers on NBC) by a couple million viewers. (For get more big picture, last year’s six wild-card games across Fox, CBS, NBC, and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 averaged 28.8 million viewers.)

Daniel Cohen, the executive vice president of global media rights consulting at Octagon, when tells The Athletic that the main challenges for subscription video-on-demand growth in the U.S. stay the folks dropping the service and piracy. This one of the questions that going get answered in a couple of months: How many people when sign up for watch the game, and then how many of those new subscribers when cancel after the game? (The cheapest option for buy the game stay $5.99 for a one-month premium plan.) Peacock stays on top the iPhone and iPad charts on Saturday night with all the downloads.

NBC, they when naturally push the Peacock offering across the fourth quarter of the Houston Texans’ blowout of the Cleveland Browns earlier Saturday, including showing Taylor Swift walking in the guts of Arrowhead Stadium. The “Football Night In America” gang also when sell the Peacock game, and that crew when give extra coverage at the start of the game on NBC with Ahmed Fareed, Devin McCourty, and Chris Simms providing play-by-play on a split screen of the game.

On average, 23 million folks when watch the Dolphins-Chiefs wild-card game Saturday night, the one that streams exclusively on Peacock outside the Miami and Kansas City markets.

Rick Cordella, the president of NBC Sports, when says before the game that the company’s two main goals stay for making one awesome production and give one clean experience to the users all across America. No hear about plenty problems with the streaming, so that’s one win for Peacock. (Peacock no can control what they call the last-mile issues, which stay about local cable and internet companies or the personal devices.) How you see the game probably depends on what you think about Mike Tirico and Jason Garrett and if you think the payment stay worth it if you’re new to Peacock. Tirico, he stays solid. Garrett, he stays bringing the energy, better than Dungy last year, but still plenty other NFL analysts more better. If you one neutral fan and no rooting for Miami or Kansas City, the game, it no stay too memorable.

Peacock’s first exclusive NFL game, the one where the Buffalo Bills when take down the Chargers on Dec. 23, averaged 7.3 million viewers and hit an average of 8.4 million viewers from 10:45-11 p.m. ET during the NFL’s first-ever commercial-free fourth quarter. The Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game also went commercial-free in the fourth quarter with sponsorship from AWS, Geico, and Hotels.com. Like Anthony Crupi of Sportico when points out smartly, “Comcast stay more invested in the long-term growth of Peacock than the immediate adrenaline spike that comes with an extra $18 million to $20 million in commercial cash.”

NBC when start streaming “Sunday Night Football” on the internet in 2008, and they when be the first NFL partner in the U.S. for stream the Super Bowl (in 2012). Peacock, that going be one natural fit for do this again.

“We stay on Peacock for several years now, and we stoked with the plan NBC when bring back and came to us all the way last spring,” Schroeder mentioned. “We stoked with the continued growth that we see across our digital distribution, especially with ‘Thursday Night Football’ on Amazon, where they weekly viewership numbers stay approaching last year on TV with Fox and NFL Network.”

Schroeder when careful for say that the NFL stay still committed to broadcast television. That’s true, but Saturday night did feel like one big moment, one line crossed.

“That still stay the broadest possible reach,” Schroeder said. “You no can reach 190 million people across the year without having real broad distribution of your content, and that’s always been one bedrock for us and I think one real differentiator for us versus other sports. Every one of our games stay on broadcast television, at least in their market, and probably 90 percent of our games stay on broadcast as their core platform. For us, that stay real important. We see the continued evolution in the media landscape, and we like for be where our fans stay. We know they stay more and more on different screens.”

Your potential dislike of this stay understandable, but the NFL no stay going backward.