KANSAS CITY, Mo. – NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, has secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the upcoming wild-card round matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. This highly-anticipated game is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium. However, fans outside of Kansas City and Miami will need to subscribe to Peacock to watch the defending champions begin their playoff run.
This game holds historical significance as it will be the first playoff game in NFL history to be aired exclusively on a streaming network. NBC previously aired a game exclusively on Peacock on December 23, which saw the Buffalo Bills defeat the Los Angeles Chargers, attracting an impressive 7.3 million viewers. The game even peaked at an average of 8.4 million viewers during the commercial-free fourth quarter.
The decision to broadcast the Chiefs-Dolphins game exclusively on Peacock was a deliberate move by the NFL, as they strategically selected one of the most popular teams based on viewership. The league received an estimated $110 million from Peacock for the rights to air this groundbreaking live-streamed playoff game.
Last year, the six wild-card games across various networks averaged 28.8 million viewers. While it is unlikely that the Dolphins-Chiefs game on Peacock will reach those numbers, surpassing the 20 million viewership mark would be considered a significant success by Peacock officials and the NFL.
As fans eagerly anticipate this highly-anticipated matchup, the question remains whether viewers outside of the two team cities will be willing to purchase the game. The streaming platform is betting on the loyalty and dedication of Chiefs and Dolphins fans nationwide.
In conclusion, the Kansas City Chiefs will face off against the Miami Dolphins in a historic wild-card round matchup that will be exclusively aired on the streaming service Peacock. This game marks a significant moment in NFL history as the first playoff game to be broadcast solely on a streaming network. With high stakes and dedicated fan bases, the Chiefs-Dolphins showdown is sure to captivate audiences across the country.