STAMFORD, Conn.—In a notable example of how high profile sports are moving to streaming platforms, the NFL and NBCUniversal have announced that Peacock will become the home to the first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game.
NBCU’s streaming service Peacock will live stream an NFL Wild Card Playoff in primetime on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET immediately following a late afternoon NFL Wild Card Playoff game on NBC and Peacock (4:30 p.m. ET on Sat. Jan. 13).
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the one year deal cost NBCU about $110 million.
"We are thrilled to partner with the NFL on this industry milestone, bringing to Peacock the first ever exclusively live streamed NFL Playoff game," said Pete Bevacqua, chairman, NBC Sports. "With America's No. 1 primetime show for a record 12 consecutive years, the terrific regular season SNF schedule revealed last week, and today's announcement, we can't wait for the 2023 season to kick off."
The news follows the announcement that this season, Peacock will be the exclusive home of an NFL regular-season game for the first time, as Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills visit Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers in a primetime matchup of AFC playoff teams at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 23.
The Peacock regular-season game immediately follows a special SNF Saturday afternoon game (Bengals vs. Steelers) at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
The Peacock exclusive Wild Card game and regular season game will be broadcast on NBC stations in the two competing team cities, and available on mobile devices with NFL+. The NFL is the only sports league that presents all regular-season and postseason games on free, over-the-air television in local markets.
Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president and COO of NFL Media added that "Expanding the digital distribution of NFL content while maintaining wide reach for our games continues to be a key priority for the League, and bringing the excitement of an NFL playoff game exclusively to Peacock's streaming platform is the next step in that strategy."
"As Peacock continues to grow, nothing says 'must-have' programming more than live NFL games," said Kelly Campbell, president, Peacock and Direct to Consumer, NBCUniversal. "With the first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game and our first exclusive regular season game, plus the entire season of Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America, and the Peacock Sunday Night Football Final postgame show, fans can stream the best of the NFL on Peacock all season long."
With the two Saturday NFL Wild Card games and a Sunday primetime NFL Wild Card game (on NBC and Peacock), NBCUniversal will be the first media company to present three NFL Playoff games in a single weekend (January 2024), the company noted.
