Peacock-Exclusive NFL Wild Card Game Sets U.S. Live Streaming Record With 23 Million Viewers

Matt Webb Mitovich
·2 min read
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Peacock’s exclusive presentation of Saturday night’s AFC Wild Card playoff game between the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins scored a big ol’ touchdown.

With an average audience (AMA) of approximately 23.0 million viewers across Peacock, NBC stations in Miami and Kansas City, and on mobile with NFL+, the Chiefs’ 26-7 win — in the fourth-coldest game in NFL history! — delivered the most-streamed event ever in the U.S. (according to Nielsen custom fast national data).

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The Wild Card Weekend match-up peaked in the second quarter with an average of 24.6 million viewers.

All told, viewership for Dolphins-Chiefs was up 6% from last year’s primetime AFC Wild Card Game.

NBCUniversal reportedly shelled out around $110 million back in May for exclusive rights to the Saturday -night Wild Card Weekend game, which was the first time an NFL playoff game was only available through streaming.

The Peacock app in turn reportedly soared to the top of app stores in popularity, ahead of the match-up.

“We couldn’t be prouder of our partnership with Peacock and are thrilled with the results of the first-ever exclusively live streamed NFL playoff game,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “To best serve our fans, we need to ensure games are available to them as their viewing habits change and this includes digital distribution as we continue to help shape the future of the sports and entertainment industry.”

NBC Sports’ Saturday afternoon broadcast of the Browns-Texans AFC Wild Card Game, meanwhile, averaged 29 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, NFL Digital and Telemundo – making it the most-watched Saturday NFL Wild Card game on NBC since 2014. Peacock’s share of that audience was 3.1 million viewers, NBC Sports’ largest streaming simulcast of an NFL game (excluding Super Bowl LVI).

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