Don’t believe the naysayers who think Saturday night’s wild-card battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins was just a frozen clash. It was epic, with a whopping 23 million viewers tuning in to make it the most-streamed game in NFL history on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. Prior to Saturday, it was the Dallas Cowboys who boasted the most-streamed game, but the Chiefs-Dolphins matchup has now taken the crown.
The game marked a huge milestone as the first playoff showdown in league history to air exclusively on a streaming network. However, with 26-7 win for the Chiefs, it wasn’t just the Kansas City and Miami fans who were rejoicing. Despite the uproar over the subscription fee, 23 million viewers tuned in to watch Patrick Mahomes and his team in action.
Along with a massive viewership, Peacock’s “Premium” subscription saw a spike too, with the service boasting a whopping 30 million subscribers. It looks like exclusive streaming games are becoming an increasing trend, and with such promising numbers, it won’t be a surprise to see more exclusive live-streamed NFL playoff games in the future.
Who knew watching a football match could make history? Apparently, it can. -Richard Deitsch, senior sports media writer
Required reading
- What is Peacock? Why the NBC platform is exclusively streaming Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game
- An NFL playoff game will stream on NBC’s Peacock. Is this football’s future?
(Photo: Denny Medley / USA Today)
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