Streaming broadcaster pays unbelievable sum for a game
Status: 2:40 p.m
Epic finals like the Philadelphia Eagles versus the Kansas City Chiefs at the last Super Bowl keep the NFL attractive to consumers
Quelle: Getty Images/Focus On Sport
In the upcoming NFL season, a play-off game will be shown on pay TV in the USA. This was announced by the football league. The streaming platform “Peacock” has been awarded a game of the first round, the so-called wild card games, on January 13, 2024.
As reported by the “Wall Street Journal”, provider NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast (which also includes Sky), is paying 110 million dollars (approx. 101 million euros) for this – and that for just one game. The league collects a princely amount for the linear TV rights alone. The new TV deal, which will bring in an incredible 113 billion dollars (approx. 104 billion euros) over the next eleven years, will take effect from the coming season – an increase of almost 80 percent.
However, there is one exception when broadcasting in the States: As the NFL explains, the games in the cities of the participating teams are also shown on normal TV. Means: If the Cincinnati Bengals played against the Baltimore Ravens, the game would be shown on TV in Cincinnati and Baltimore. The rest of the country would have to watch the game on pay TV.
The next step in NFL strategy
Hans Schroeder, Vice President of the NFL, stated, “Expanding the digital distribution of NFL content while maintaining a wide reach for our games remains a top priority for the league. Bringing an exciting NFL playoff game exclusively to the Peacock streaming platform is the next step in that strategy.”
For the regular season, “Peacock” – 22 million subscribers in the US – had previously secured a deal. The portal will broadcast one game per season. Play-offs, which everyone in the USA really wants to see, is another house number. In Germany, however, it will not affect those interested. At best, there will be a slightly different design in the TV picture.
The Kansas City Chiefs open the NFL season on September 7th with a home game against the Detroit Lions with German-American Amon-Ra St. Brown. The defending champion around the stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will play in Germany for the first time on November 5th and will meet the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt am Main. The Philadelphia Eagles, who lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, will open against the New England Patriots on September 10th.
