Next year’s round of NFL playoff games will include a game that is exclusively hosted on Amazon Prime as opposed to NBC’s Peacock.
Initial reports from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports claimed that Amazon would be paying $120 million for the exclusive rights to the NFL playoff game. Reports from Chris Novak of Awful Announcing now say that the price Amazon paid for the NFL playoff game is closer to $150 million.
“I’m told the number is closer to $150 million rather than $120 million from a source familiar with the matter,” CNBC reporter Sherman said. He added that both Amazon and the NFL both issued “no comment” on the news.
Amazon is paying a nearly 50% increase from what Peacock paid
The first-ever exclusively streamed NFL playoff game was the wildcard matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Peacock paid $110 million to exclusively stream this playoff game and now Amazon is paying $40 million more.
Although the exclusively streamed game did not make many fans happy, it resulted in a massive jump in subscribers for the streaming platform.
A record-breaking 2.8 million jump in subscribers was seen by Peacock, according to data analytics company Antenna. This was more than the launch of Disney+ as well as the hosting of some Super Bowls on streaming sites, although the streamed Super Bowls were not exclusive.
This isn’t Amazon’s first experience with exclusive NFL streaming rights
Before the acquisition of the rights to exclusively host a playoff game, Amazon already had the exclusive rights to NFL’s Thursday Night Football. They also exclusively hosted the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets for $100 million, which is 50% less than they are paying to host a playoff game.
Before this deal ever took place, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said exclusively streamed NFL games aren’t going anywhere anytime soon in an article from Forbes.
“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.”
The NFL received massive backlash for the exclusively streamed Peacock playoff game due to the stakes as well as the fact that Peacock is significantly less popular. Peacock continues to anger fans by hosting exclusive sporting events behind a paywall.
Peacock sucks! First, it was the Chiefs playoff game. Now, it is Clark’s record-breaking game!
— Don948 (@Don9481) February 16, 2024
I am really beginning to hate Peacock. They forced me to pay to watch a NFL playoff game. Now, I’m being forced fork over money if I want to watch Caitlin Clark tonight.
— Jay Jones (@dockjones) February 15, 2024
Amazon already had over 200 million Prime subscribers, according to Backlinko.com. Peacock had just 30 million when they decided to exclusively host a playoff game, according to Variety Magazine. Peacock experienced a 2.8 million jump in subscribers and Amazon was not going to pass that opportunity up this year.
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