What is a peacock? Why is NBC exclusively broadcasting the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game?

The Athletic has live coverage of Chiefs vs. Dolphins In the AFC wild card match.

NFL fans trying to watch this weekend's Wild Card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins will hit a paywall. While local NBC stations in Kansas City and Miami will broadcast the game, viewers outside those areas will be required to pay a subscription fee to catch Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce vs. Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill on the NBC Peacock streaming service or the NFL+ app.

The game — scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium — is the first playoff game in league history to be broadcast exclusively on the over-the-air network.

Fans, critics and even Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu The move was criticized, but it likely won't be the last time the NFL and NBC resort to a subscriber strategy if enough viewers tune in.

So what is a peacock and how do you catch the action? Here's what you should know.

What is a peacock?

Peacock is NBC's video streaming service offered to viewers via the Internet rather than broadcast, cable, or satellite. The service — which launched in 2020 — features live sporting events, including content from the previously shuttered cable channel NBC Sports Network, as well as movies and TV series.

Peacock offers a “Premium” subscription that includes live sports events for $5.99 per month and an ad-free “Premium Plus” tier for $11.99 per month.

It's supported on various web browsers as well as on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Vizio, Cox, Spectrum, Xfinity, PlayStation, and Xbox. Among other platforms and devices.

What sports does Peacock broadcast?

In addition to NFL games, Peacock's sports stocks include the NFL, Olympics, WWE, Big Ten football/men's and women's basketball, golf, motorsports, and more.

Content from the NBC Sports Gold Premier League Pass has also been moved from NBCSN to the platform and includes snowboarding, rugby and cycling.

How many subscribers does Peacock have?

Peacock has 30 million subscribers, with subscriptions up 75 percent over last year, according to Comcast.

What does a peacock do in an NFL Wild Card game?

Although Saturday's contest marks a first in the NFL He clears his throat The game will be broadcast exclusively, and this isn't the first time the league has attempted something like this. Peacock exclusively broadcast the Buffalo Bills–Los Angeles Chargers regular season game on December 23. This game averaged 7.3 million viewers, peaking with an average of 8.4 million viewers in the 10:45-11 PM ET window during the league's first commercial-free fourth quarter.

for every The athleteRichard Deitch, Amazon Prime's “Thursday Night Football” broadcast averaged 11.86 million viewers last year, which was 24 percent more than in 2021 (9.58 million). As Deitch points out, “There is still a belief among media executives that sports can drive long-term subscriber growth.”

Peacock paid the NFL an estimated $110 million to broadcast Saturday's game, as first reported in May and confirmed by The Wall Street Journal. The athlete.

Why game bosses over peacock?

It's probably no coincidence that the Chiefs — one of the most popular teams in the league, buoyed by Taylor Swift's fan base — are around in this primetime period. Peacock is counting on viewers outside of Kansas City and Miami pulling out their wallets to watch.

Per Deitsch, the six card games across Fox, NBC, CBS and ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 last year averaged 28.8 million viewers. “The Dolphins-Chiefs game on Peacock is unlikely to pull in that kind of number, but if viewership exceeds 20 million, I think Peacock and NFL officials will consider that a big win,” he wrote.

Speaking about the strategy, Rick Kordella – the president of NBC Sports who oversees sports at Peacock – said: “Sports is a big part of our overall strategy at Peacock, and sports are not replaceable.”

He continued: “We know that people will come to watch the game and are willing to pay the subscription price for the game.” “Sports has been kind of the catalyst to get people in the door at Peacock and then learn about all the other great content that we have to offer. It's a continuation of that existing plan that we've had for three years. We're very excited about the audience numbers and what we can do with it.”

How to subscribe to Peacock

Fans can subscribe to Peacock online or by downloading the Peacock app on their supported devices. Students get an A discount On Peacock Premium ($1.99 per month for 12 months).

what do you know

In addition to Saturday's Chiefs-Dolphins game being broadcast on NBC stations in the teams' cities, it will also be available on mobile devices that support NFL+.

Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), Kylie Hartung (reporter), and Terry Macaulay (rules analyst) will call the game. It will feature a commercial-free fourth quarter.

Required reading

(Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)