Getty Image / Scott Winters
Fans around the NFL were livid upon finding out that Saturday’s Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Miami Dolphins would only be aired on Peacock, except in the Miami or Kansas City metro areas.
Many people were protesting the decision to have an NFL Playoff Game exclusively streaming for the first time in league history, calling the NFL and NBC Universal greedy.
But, NBC released their viewership numbers, and they were absolutely massive.
NBC’s Mike Tirico spoke about the viewership during the Lions-Rams game on Sunday Night Football
“What a scene last night as the Chiefs began to fend for their Super Bowl title with a 26 to seven win over Miami, a night memorable for many reasons. So many unforgettable images from the fourth-coldest playoff game in NFL history, and the passion of NFL fans added to the record books. An average of 23 million people streamed the game on Peacock, making the first ever NFL playoff game to be exclusively streamed the most streamed events of any kind in the US ever. Super wildcard Saturday was also an all-time record day for us internet traffic, with most of those people interacting with NFL content online. Congratulations to our Comcast and NBC Universal teammates, thanks to Commissioner Roger Goodell and our partners at the NFL and all the fans on this record setting collaboration, a milestone moment in media and sports history,” Tirico said.
While 23 million is substantially less than last year’s viewership in the same time slot, when you consider that NBC Universal was making a minimum of $6 and change from each new subscriber, it seems highly likely that we will be getting more streaming-exclusive playoff games in the future. And, that stinks for the league’s fans, who now have another barrier to watching some of the league’s biggest games.