NFL Shocker: One Wild Card Playoff Game to be Available Only on Peacock Next Season
Peacock has been on a winning streak lately. As it adds subscribers and lowers churn, the service has been making progress even as rivals stumble. Today, the Wall Street Journal reports Peacock is taking the streaming arms race to the next level. Peacock will be the only way to watch one NFL playoff game this upcoming season.
WSJ reports the game will be a prime-time battle during Wild Card Weekend: Saturday, January 13. If you live in the market of either team, you will still be able to watch on your local NBC affiliate. For everyone else, Peacock is your only viewing option.
Peacock has previously hosted NFL playoff games, but this is the first time a playoff game would be streaming-exclusive.
Since NBC does not cater to one specific conference, the game could feature either NFC or AFC teams.
Just three days ago, Peacock announced it would host its first-ever exclusive NFL game - a sure-to-be important Week 16 tussle between the Chargers and Bills.
Prime Video and ESPN+ are the only other services to offer streaming-exclusive games, but neither has a playoff streaming exclusive like Peacock.
This upcoming NFL season also features a massive shift as YouTube TV has exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. That package will allow viewers to see every out-of-market NFL game each Sunday afternoon, but it won’t include NFL playoff games.
It remains to be seen whether viewers will be able to see the Peacock exclusive game on NFL+. That service promises availability for every postseason game, but you can only watch on mobile devices.
Peacock has been pushing aggressively to add value to its streaming platform since it stumbled out of the gate with a launch that was thwarted by a postponed Olympics in 2020. As The Streamable reported last week, the service has been making several moves to make itself more valuable to a wider audience. This is just a partial timeline of Peacock’s moves forward:
- Peacock clawed NBCU shows back from Hulu
- MSNBC provided most of its shows to Peacock
- Peacock grabbed streaming rights to some MLB games
- It added a catch-up feature for Premier League games
- Bravo shows left Hulu for Peacock
- Peacock rolled out a new user interface
- The service added U.S. Softball National Team games
- Peacock pulled “30 Rock” back from Netflix
- “Days of Our Lives” became a Peacock exclusive
- “Halloween Ends” debuted on Peacock on the same day it hit theaters
- Peacock added some 4K titles
- The service announced it would stream IndyCar events
- Peacock announced it would stream Supercross and Pro Motocross races
- The service announced it would air World Cup games in Spanish
- It added a Hallmark Movie hub with live channels, on-demand films and series
- Peacock added a stream of local NBC affiliates in 210 markets for Premium Plus subscribers
- The service announced it would carry NBC regional sports networks in some markets
- Peacock announced plans to televise every NBC/GOLF Channel PGA Tour event, the LPGA followed
- The service acquired rights as the Spanish-language streaming home of U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team soccer
- Peacock dropped its free tier for new subscribers, it also ended free access for Xfinity subscribers
- Peacock grabbed streaming rights for the 2024 Tour de France
- The service added the popular Reelz channel, home of “On Patrol: Live”
- More MSNBC shows joined the service
- Meta Quest VR users can now watch Peacock on their devices
- The service added films from Magnolia Pictures
- Peacock will stream all 2024 Summer Olympics events live from France
These moves have helped Peacock lower the rate of subscribers who ditch the service. Peacock’s churn rate now matches the industry average. Only Hulu, Disney+, and Netflix are better at retaining their subscribers.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” and “The Office,” as well as original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports including NFL, MLB, WWE, Olympics, Premier League, NASCAR, French Open, College Football and Basketball, and PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.