Nuked Hey there, tech-loving friends! It looks like the NFL is shaking things up with a new deal that gives Peacock the exclusive national broadcast rights to one wild card playoff game next season. That’s right, one playoff game will only be available for streaming on Peacock on January 13th, 2024. This marks the “first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game” and it’s worth around $110 million, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Now, we don’t know which two teams will be competing in this historic game just yet, but for those without access to Peacock, watching options may vary depending on where you live. Along with a regular season game (Bills vs. Chargers on December 23rd) that will also be exclusively available on Peacock, the games will be broadcast in the competing teams’ local markets on an NBC affiliate and on NFL Plus, the league’s subscription streaming platform for phones and tablets (but not TVs).
The Peacock exclusive Wild Card game and regular season game will also be available on NBC stations in the two competing team cities and can be accessed via mobile devices with NFL+. It’s worth noting that the NFL is the only sports league that presents all regular-season and postseason games on free, over-the-air television in local markets.
According to reports, when the NFL struck new broadcasting deals in 2021, it reserved the rights to one playoff game per season. This NBCUniversal deal is only for the 2023 postseason, but NFL Media exec Hans Schroeder has stated that it’s “likely” that in future years, the game will continue to be streaming-only. This could attract bids from other platforms like Viacom-owned Paramount Plus, Disney’s ESPN Plus streaming, or Fox’s Tubi.
So there you have it, folks! A new era of NFL broadcasting is upon us, and Peacock is leading the charge with its exclusive streaming rights to one playoff game next season. As always, we’ll be keeping a close eye on any further developments and keeping you all in the loop. Until then, happy streaming!
Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is also an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.
