On Saturday night, an NFL game streamed for the first time ever on NBC’s Peacock. The Bills-Chargers game, which didn’t carry a lot of built-in intrigue given the struggles of the home team, generated an average audience of 7.2 million viewers across all platforms.
It’s not a massive number, but it’s a starting point. And it was a test run for what’s coming in 17 days. That’s when a wild-card game will stream exclusively on Peacock, with over-the-air broadcast in the home market of the two teams.
The Bills-Chargers generated the biggest prime-time audience for any show, stream or broadcast, on December 23.
“Winning the night in primetime is a strong sign heading into our upcoming Peacock exclusive NFL Wild Card playoff game on Jan. 13,” NBC Sports president Rick Cordella said in a release.
The game between Buffalo and L.A. introduced a new feature — no commercial breaks for the entire fourth quarter. During normal stoppages in play, NBC provided analysis and commentary in the TV booth or the studio.
The NFL and the networks realize that streaming is the future. Still, given the numbers racked up by the three Christmas games, traditional TV continues to be the present.
PFT, if you didn’t already know, has an exclusive content-licensing deal with NBC. Also, I appear on Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock, and PFT Live is streamed weekdays on Peacock.