Media companies that have rights to National Football League (NFL) games have benefitted from strong viewership during the 2023 season.
The strong viewership spilled over into the NFL Playoffs and one media company could benefit from a streaming exclusive.
What Happened: Six NFL Playoffs games were broadcast over the weekend with Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Fox Corp (NASDAQ:FOX)(NASDAQ:FOXA), Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)(NASDAQ:PARAA) and Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) all airing games.
Comcast was the only media company to have more than one game over the weekend with two airing on NBC on Saturday and Sunday. The company also aired the first ever exclusive to streaming NFL Playoffs game with Saturday night’s Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs game exclusive to Peacock.
The media company reported the AFC Wild Card Game was the biggest livestreamed event in U.S. history with an average of 23 million viewers. The game was ahead of last year’s Saturday primetime AFC Wild Card game by 6% according to the company.
Comcast said the game set records for internet usage on Saturday night as well, representing 30% of internet traffic during the game.
The game hit a peak of 24.6 million viewers during the second quarter and reached a total of 27.6 million viewers according to the company.
Streaming the NFL Playoffs contest helped Peacock deliver its largest single day for audience usage, engagement and time spent.
The earlier Saturday game between the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans averaged 29.0 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, NFL Digital and Telemundo. This made the game the most-watched Saturday NFL Wild Card game on NBC since 2014.
Related Link: 5 Key Stocks For 2023 NFL Season: Investors Eye Sports Betting, Media Rights, And Super Bowl
Why It’s Important: The first-ever exclusive streaming game came with controversy with many NFL fans upset they would have to subscribe to a streaming platform to watch the game. Players also voiced their frustration with one Chiefs player giving away Peacock subscriptions to fans to help out.
Streaming exclusives for the NFL are likely here to say, with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) showed strong viewership for its “Thursday Night Football” games and Peacock hitting strong ratings for the NFL Playoffs game.
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