Comcast said its exclusive presentation Saturday on subscription streaming service Peacock of the NFL Wild Card matchup featuring the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs beating the fleet-footed Miami Dolphins drew the biggest live-streaming audience in U.S. history.
Citing Nielsen data, Comcast said the game averaged 23 million viewers, reaching a total of 28 million watchers. The game drew a 6% bigger audience than last year's primetime AFC Wild Card contest, which had a "total average delivery" of 21.8 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital.
Comcast, the top U.S. ISP, also said the internet itself on Saturday experienced a high-water usage mark for a single day, with the game consuming 30% of the massive traffic.
Comcast reported more than 30 million paid Peacock subscribers as of the end of September. Notably, however, the company didn't disclose how many new Peacock signups it netted Saturday.
Comcast's NBCUniversal division paid the NFL $110 million to put the NFL playoff game exclusively on Peacock. And the media company drew notable blowback from pundits and fans, displeased that the widely anticipated game wasn't available on either free over-the-air broadcast or linear pay TV.
This is what I think about the Dolphins game being televised exclusively on Peacock. #MIAvsKC pic.twitter.com/iAN9VcVXzsJanuary 14, 2024
But Comcast, NBCU and Peacock ended up big winners, attracting record attention -- and usage -- for a SVOD platform that had, until recently, been only a bit player in the Streaming Wars.
“From NBC Sports and Peacock to the Comcast team, our entire company worked seamlessly to plan for this game and executed flawlessly to deliver a streaming experience with the NFL on a scale that’s never been done before. It’s a very proud moment,” said Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, in a statement.
Added NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: “We couldn’t be prouder of our partnership with Peacock and are thrilled with the results of the first-ever exclusively live streamed NFL playoff game. 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.”
