NBC Thanks Roger Goodell For Cashing Giant Check That Allowed Them to Prove NFL is Streaming King
The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night, 26-7. The game streamed exclusively on NBC's Peacock app and football fans from all income brackets were super annoyed. And yet, they tuned in according to NBC as the AFC Wild Card game was the "biggest live-streamed event in U.S. history." According to a press release the game averaged 23 million viewers.
Last night's Dolphins-Chiefs AFC Wild Card Game on Peacock Makes Streaming History
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) January 15, 2024
Details: https://t.co/ZbGB80p4JZ pic.twitter.com/wTm7wKa1mc
NBC was so proud of the number that they made Mike Tirico narrate a video that aired during Sunday night's broadcast where they bragged about how many people watched the game and interacted NFL content. Tirico then congratulated "Comcast and NBC Universal teammates" and thanked commissioner Roger Goodell.
NBC celebrates the Peacock game, calling it the "most streamed event ever" with 23 million viewers and thanking Roger Goodell and the NFL.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
Mike Tirico calls it "A milestone moment in media and sports history."
NBC also thanks you for your subscription fee. pic.twitter.com/WGJQMRzVP2
You wouldn't be wrong if you thought the video was a little weird and had some state-run TV vibes. Which is especially funny because people were also concerned last week about how Disney taking a monetary stake in the NFL could affect coverage in the future. Meanwhile NBC basically thanked the league commissioner on-air for accepting their $100+ million check. (Now if you'll excuse me I have to see if there's any breaking news from the NFL insiders who work at the NFL's in-house NFL Network.)
As for the huge audience for the online-only broadcast, who knew so many people had access to the Internet in 2024? Twenty-three million people is a pretty big number and it seems like it would have been the 11th-biggest audience of 2023. Quite an accomplishment considering how many people had to pay $6 and download an app to see the game.
So Tirico was right that it was a "milestone moment in media and sports history." Just wait until people find out just how true that was. Other streaming apps are going to be fighting for the honor to give the NFL and Roger Goodell money for exclusive streaming games now that they know people are willing to pay. Within the next two years expect something like "Streaming Saturday" where you'll need at least three subscriptions to watch the action.
Prepare for more bellyaching and complaining before people eventually pull out their credit cards.