Saturday night’s game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers is set to make history as the first NFL game exclusively streamed on Peacock. This groundbreaking event not only marks a major milestone in the world of streaming, but it also comes with an exciting new development: the fourth quarter of the game will be completely commercial-free.
The announcement made jointly by NBC and the NFL has sparked great anticipation among football fans. Comcast subsidiary NBCUniversal has revealed that there will be a 40% reduction in standard ad time for this NFL game, allowing for an additional 12 minutes or more of valuable game-related content.
Rob Hyland, the coordinating producer for NBC’s highly acclaimed “Sunday Night Football,” emphasized that this unique streaming experience has been carefully curated since June. The aim is to deliver a game that stands out from regular NBC broadcasts, allowing for a more immersive and uninterrupted viewing experience.
“The limited stoppages are truly exciting for me, as they provide the perfect opportunity to fully capture and tell the story of the game,” Hyland stated enthusiastically.
During one of the two scheduled breaks in the fourth quarter, each lasting 2 minutes and 20 seconds, viewers can expect the announce team of Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, and Melissa Stark to delve even deeper into the captivating storylines of the game. The other break will feature insights and analysis from the esteemed “Football Night in America” studio team, who will share their thoughts on the current game as well as preview the upcoming slate of games for the rest of Week 16.
Football fans can now eagerly await this groundbreaking event, a night where they can savor an uninterrupted streaming experience and immerse themselves fully in the excitement unfolding on their screens.
A Commercial-Free Quarter for NFL Playoffs
NBC’s lead producer for prime time Olympics coverage, Hyland, is no stranger to producing events with limited or no commercial breaks. In an exciting development, a commercial-free quarter will be sponsored by Capital One, Hyundai, and Walmart for the upcoming NFL playoffs.
Enhanced Viewing Experience on Peacock
This Saturday’s game on Peacock will follow the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers matchup on NBC, ensuring a better lead-in audience. The same trend will continue on January 13, with NBC carrying the afternoon wild-card playoff game and Peacock hosting the night game.
Expanding Reach through NBC Affiliates and Amazon Prime Video
Games on Peacock will be broadcasted through the NBC affiliates in each team’s market. This mirrors the arrangement for games on Amazon Prime Video.
No Ratings Predictions, but Impressive Viewership
Neither NBC nor Peacock have set any specific ratings predictions for the NFL playoffs. However, it is worth noting that Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” package has seen a remarkable 26% increase in viewership this season, averaging 12.07 million viewers.
To exemplify this growth, last Thursday’s game between the Chargers and Raiders saw an average of 7.98 million viewers, even with Las Vegas securing a dominating 42-0 lead at halftime on their way to a 63-21 victory.
