The first National Football League (NFL) Playoff broadcast exclusively on a streaming service will go down this weekend. The Miami Dolphins will travel to face the Kansas City Chiefs and be televised exclusively on the NBC Streaming Service, Peacock. Peacock is a subscription service that is $5.99 a month/$59.99 a year.
The NFL is great at pushing on the edges of how and when fans consume games. Sunday, Monday night, Sunday night, Thursday night, Thanksgiving, Christmas, International - each time the NFL has added something to the mix there is some initial hesitation.
So, in a world where negative sentiment tends to go through a massive megaphone, NFL fans are going ballistic on social media about having to purchase an additional service to watch the game. The memes mocking people's parents attempting to figure out how to watch the game are circulating like crazy.
This game will feature 40% fewer commercials than the traditional game and will feature a commercial-free 4th quarter. Estimates are starting around 15M viewers and it will be interesting to see if stats are released around NEW subscribers jumping in the service just for the game.
This idea of live sporting events exclusively on streaming services is not new. As a fan of Global Football, the exclusive access to Major League Soccer matches is through Apple TV. The Premier League broadcast deal with NBC includes many matches on exclusively on Peacock. I have my own personal issues with the streaming experience. I have to seek it out, stay there and not flip around, and the next match doesn't automatically play. That said, the Chiefs/Dolphins and Manchester United/Tottenham Hotspur Football Club will be must watch for me this weekend and both are exclusively on Peacock.
As a Sports Business Class, what are your thoughts? This is a chance to go deep around Broadcast deals, ratings, and their financial impact on leagues, franchises, and ultimately players. Here are a few discussion starters beyond defining the Sports Broadcast landscape -
AppleTV, Prime, Netflix, Peacock, YouTubeTV, ESPN+, and the many "behind paywall" team sites are becoming places where sports fans "need" to be for exclusive content. How are you watching sport now? How many of these services are you utilizing as a fan? What sport is next? Should the NBA pursue one of these streaming space as part of their future broadcast arrangement? How can these deals be profitable for the Streamers? Ultimately, have a few people give their take on the experience and it's value.
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