Next year, another NFL playoff game will become a streaming exclusive, only this time fans will need an Amazon Prime account to follow the action.
Multiple reports say Amazon will stream its first NFL playoff game in the 2024-25 season following Peacock’s wildly successful broadcast of the wild card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins. This game was watched by about 23 million people.
The news comes on the heels of an announcement from Disney’s ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. about plans to launch a new sports streaming service. And it follows record viewership for Amazon’s Thursday night football coverage. The company says its overall audience has grown 24% this year.
Amazon did have the opportunity to stream the Chiefs-Dolphins Wild Card game, but passed on the opportunity when it was originally offered. Wall Street Magazine reports NBCUniversal had hoped to retain the streaming rights to the playoff game (which it paid for stated amount of $110 million this year), but Amazon again had the right of first refusal as part of an agreement with the league on Thursday night.
In the three days leading up to the January game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, about 2.8 million new customers signed up for Peacock, according to analytics firm Antenna. This is the biggest subscriber acquisition moment the company has ever seen.
While some fans at the time were unhappy that they had to add another subscription streaming service if they wanted to watch the game, the NFL was certainly thrilled with the game’s viewership numbers — and indicated it was open to more in the future streaming exclusives.
“We are very proud of our partnership with Peacock and are thrilled with the results of the first-ever NFL playoff game broadcast exclusively live,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. in the statement last month. “To best serve our fans, we need to ensure games are available to them as their viewing habits change, including digital distribution as we continue to help shape the future of the sports and entertainment industry.”