NBC and the NFL’s gamble to make the first-ever paywalled wild-card game on the Peacock Network appears to have paid off after setting a new streaming record.
The Kansas City Chiefs 26-7 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night averaged 23 million viewers on Peacock, local NBC broadcasts in the teams’ home markets, and on the NFL+ mobile app, according to custom fast national data from Nielsen. The fourth-coldest NFL game ever was the most streamed live event in U.S. history, according to NBC Sports.
“Our entire company worked seamlessly to plan for this game and executed flawlessly to deliver a streaming experience with the NFL on a scale that’s never been done before,” Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of NBC parent Comcast, said. “It’s a very proud moment.”
NBC celebrates the Peacock game, calling it the “most streamed event ever” with 23 million viewers and thanking Roger Goodell and the NFL.
Mike Tirico calls it “A milestone moment in media and sports history.”
NBC also thanks you for your subscription fee. pic.twitter.com/WGJQMRzVP2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “We couldn’t be prouder of our partnership with Peacock and are thrilled with the results of the first-ever exclusively live streamed NFL playoff game.”
“To best serve our fans, we need to ensure games are available to them as their viewing habits change and this includes digital distribution as we continue to help shape the future of the sports and entertainment industry,” he added.
Last year’s AFC Wild Card game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars averaged 20.61 million viewers for the network broadcast and 21.8 million across all platforms, The Hollywood Reporter noted. Peacock has about 30 million paid subscribers, per NBC.
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The previous streaming-exclusive record (plus affiliate broadcasts in home markets) was set with the “Thursday Night Football” game on November 30 when the Dallas Cowboys took on the Seattle Seahawks in a game that garnered 15.26 million viewers.
Ahead of the game, NFL fans took to social media and made it clear they did not think it was right that an AFC wild-card game was being offered exclusively to Peacock subscribers, a first in playoff history.
NFL reporter Ari Meirov pointed out that the league and network would make a lot of money by making the game exclusive to Peacock subscribers.
“Peacock is paying in the range of $110M to exclusively carry a playoff game,” Meirov wrote in a post on X. “The game they are getting is a Chiefs / Patrick Mahomes game. FWIW: My comment section is not happy.”
Fans who lived in the Kansas City or Miami television markets were able to view the game on their local NBC affiliate. But fans outside those areas had to pay $5.99 for a monthly subscription to Peacock to watch, TMZ noted.