One of the most anticipated matchups of the NFL playoffs' opening round, NFL Wild Card weekend, is the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs game on Saturday, January 13, at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. But for the first time ever for an NFL playoff game, the Dolphins vs Chiefs game is being billed as a Peacock exclusive live stream. But do you really need Peacock to watch Dolphins vs Chiefs, or is there another way to view the matchup?
Basically, it depends on where you live.
For most of the country, yes, Peacock is going to be the only way you can watch this game, so a subscription is required. It can be for either Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus, as both offer live sports.
However, if you live in the greater Kansas City or Miami areas, then there is another option, as the game is going to broadcast on your local NBC station, available through a traditional pay-TV provider, via a TV antenna or a live TV streaming service that carries NBC (i.e., Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV).
Everyone else (or if you live in those areas but don't have access to your local NBC station), if you are not already a subscriber to Peacock, you are going to need to sign up for the streaming service if you have an interest in watching Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Chiefs try and defend last year's Super Bowl title against Tyreek Hill, Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins.
Unfortunately, there is no longer a Peacock free trial, so you can't test out the streaming service to just stream the game.
This is just one of the issues that is causing confusion on how to watch NFL Wild Card games this year. The other is a blackout of Tegna-owned stations, which include NBC, Fox and other channels in certain markets, on DirecTV services. The silver lining with the Dolphins vs Chiefs game is that it offers a much easier workaround for fans than those impacted by the blackout.
The Dolphins vs Chiefs NFL Wild Card game is going to be the only 2024 playoff game exclusively on a streaming service. Although, you can also stream the other Wild Card games airing on traditional NBC stations on Peacock this weekend: the Cleveland Browns vs Houston Texans on Saturday, January 13, at 4:30 pm ET/1:30 pm PT, and the Los Angeles Rams vs Detroit Lions on Sunday, January 14, at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.
