With the NFL season starting, many are wondering how many streaming services are needed to watch all the games. What does NBCUniversal’s recent strategy with Peacock mean for football fans? Let’s take a look at what’s going on.

Growth of streaming services during the pandemic

Subscriptions to streaming services have been on the rise, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, traditional cable TV has been on the decline. CNBC reported that in 2023, “pay TV has been steadily declining as consumers cancel traditional packages and opt for streaming. The pace of this decline has only accelerated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when streaming usage skyrocketed.” In addition, CNBC found that cable and broadcast TV accounted for less than 50% of TV usage for the first time in history.

According to MNTN, 88% of adults in the U.S. currently subscribe to at least one streaming service. What does this mean for sports? MNTN reports that “53% of adults watch or stream sporting events at least once a month.” With the rise of streaming services and a significant number of adults watching sports, it was only a matter of time before platforms like Peacock, Amazon, ESPN+ and Netflix jumped on the sports bandwagon.

Considering the NFL is the most watched sport in the U.S., it’s no surprise that everyone wants to be there. ESPN stated, “NFL regular season games averaged 17.9 million viewers in 2023, the second-highest since average tracking began in 1995.”

Peacock’s influence on sports broadcasting

Peacock, owned by NBCUniversal (a subsidiary of Comcast), was launched in 2020. The platform has broadcast two exclusive NFL games. In 2023, NBCUniversal reported that Peacock’s broadcast of the Chiefs-Dolphins game set a record as the most-watched live stream in U.S. history, with 23 million viewers.

NBCUniversal also found that adults who paid to watch a game often kept their subscriptions and used them for non-sports content as well, which was surprising. This finding has increased NBCUniversal’s interest in broadcasting sports and led to the company signing a $2.45 billion annual deal with the NBA. Starting in 2025, that deal will extend through the 2035-36 season, giving NBCUniversal 11 years of broadcasting NBA games.

Peacock has faced challenges, however: Comcast reported a loss of one million subscribers in the first quarter of this year. However, NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics showed a clear turnaround. NBCUniversal highlighted: “4.1 million viewers per day streamed the action on NBCU’s apps (this includes Peacock and the NBC Sports app, but the lion’s share went to Peacock) and reached a total of 23.5 billion minutes streamed, 40% more than all previous Summer and Winter Olympics combined.” This daily viewership would have been a record if Peacock hadn’t aired the exclusive NFL games.

As traditional television continues to decline and studies show that sports viewers often retain their subscriptions for non-sports content, Peacock (NBCUniversal) is increasingly focusing on sports broadcasts overall – a trend that other platforms are also adopting.

According to CNBC, “Research firm Antenna estimates that Peacock gained 3 million new subscribers by acquiring the rights to that one NFL game, which cost $110 million. More than 70% of those subscribers stayed with Peacock about two months later, Antenna said in March.”

Even Netflix is ​​joining the trend, planning to stream two NFL games on Christmas Day this year. In addition to NFL games, Peacock also broadcasts Big Ten football, Premier League soccer, and NASCAR.

2024 NFL Opening Week Schedule

The first week of the NFL season will feature Peacock’s exclusive game: a clash between the Packers and the Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil. It will be the first NFL game in South America.

Here is the schedule for the first week of the 2024 NFL season:

Thursday, September 5, 2024

• Ravens vs Chiefs: 8:20 p.m. (NBC, Peacock)

Friday, September 6, 2024

• Eagles vs Packers: 20:15 (Peacock)

Sunday, September 8, 2024

• Steelers vs Falcons: 1:00 p.m. (Fox)
• Cardinals vs Bills: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
• Titans vs Bears: 1:00 p.m. (Fox)
• Patriots vs Bengals: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
• Texans vs Colts: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
• Jaguars vs. Dolphins: 1:00 p.m. (CBS)
• Panthers vs Saints: 1:00 p.m. (Fox)
• Vikings against giants: 1:00 p.m. (Fox)
• Raiders vs. Chargers: 4:05 p.m. (CBS)
• Broncos vs Seahawks: 4:05 p.m. (CBS)
• Cowboys vs Browns: 4:25 p.m. (Fox)
• Commanders against privateers: 4:25 p.m. (Fox)
• Rams vs Lions: 8:20 p.m. (NBC)

Monday, September 9, 2024

• Jets vs 49ers: 8:15 p.m. (ESPN, ABC)