NFL Fans Will Complain About Playoff Game On Peacock, But They're Going To Watch It Anyway

For the first time ever, an NFL playoff game will be available exclusively on a streaming service.

The Jan. 13 Wild Card matchup on Peacock will undoubtedly be met with a chorus of angry fans on social media. Pitchforks out, they'll curse money-hungry Roger Goodell and they'll refuse to subscribe to yet another streaming service just to watch one stupid football game.

But they're all full of sh-t. And the NFL knows it.

The league tested the waters on Dec. 23 — streaming the Buffalo Bills vs. the Los Angeles Chargers only on Peacock. Fans swore up and down they would absolutely not fork over $5.99 to watch Josh Allen beat a 5-9 team.

Enjoy your trash ratings, Peacock.

But alas, the NFL wins again.

The Bills-Chargers game averaged 7.3 million viewers and peaked at an average of 8.4 million during the league's first-ever commercial-free fourth quarter, based on Nielsen fast nationals. It was the most watched program on that day.

The viewership reflects an upward trend in the popularity of streaming live sports. Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football averaged 11.86 million viewers in 2023. That's up 24% from 2021 (9.58 million) — largely thanks to a much better schedule than previous years.

But for a fanbase that swears it won't subscribe to streaming services, y'all sure do subscribe to a lot of streaming services.

(Getty Images)

And trust me, I am right there with you. As one of the people who spent $389 ($489 for non-subscribers) on YouTube TV's Sunday Ticket this season, pushing some of those games to another platform makes me feel like I'm being robbed.

Even if it is only $5.99.

NFL is king, And Peacock is banking on it.

Like most streaming services, NBC's Peacock is hemorrhaging money. Last month, Comcast president Mike Cavanagh said the platform would hit $2.8 billion in losses in 2023.

But still, NBC shelled out $110 million for the exclusive rights to one Wild Card playoff game.

It's a gamble executives are willing to make. And why wouldn't they?

The NFL has an unrelenting stranglehold over American audiences. According to Nielsen, the league accounted for 93 of the year's 100 most-watched TV broadcasts. Aside from three college football games, no other sport even made the list.

Daniel Cohen, EVP of global media rights consulting at Octagon, predicts streaming of live sports will overtake traditional TV consumption by 2028.

"Sports fans will go where the content goes," Cohen said. "The key will be to expose the first-time purchasers to the other benefits of Peacock while they are locked in the playoff game."

So expect to see plenty of ads for Peacock shows during the commercial breaks during the Wild Card game.

Unless, of course, you hold strong to your principles and find something else to watch on primetime Saturday night.

But you won't. And neither will I.

Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.