NFL - NEWS & NOTES

I'm going to hold off on blasting NFL/NBC/Peacock for a moment until we get a bit more info, because there's one key piece to this that hasn't been declared yet: will the game be streamed on the free tier, or will it only be on the two premium tiers?

We're automatically assuming that since they're paying a fortune for the streaming rights, they'll only put it on the subscription tiers. But as a one-shot deal, putting it on their free tier to get new users in to see the content listings and what's available through the paid tiers would be an interesting strategic decision by NBCUniversal.

Among other things, they would also be able to charge much higher advertising rates for ads specifically pushed during that stream. I doubt they'd be able to recover the full $110 million either through those ads or through whatever subscriptions they gain through new users checking out the platform, but it could be part of a big picture strategy - such as gaining a foothold as an early leader in traditional network via streaming.

I'm guessing it will be subscription only, which will suck. But if they're truly thinking ahead with a longer term strategy in mind, they might end up putting it out there on the free tier.

 

I'll look into it. Hard to see after investing $110M, they'd do anything free, but it is possible.

 

The Peacock exclusive game on Jan. 13 would start at 8:15 or 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on NBC stations in the markets of the two teams. It will also be available on mobile devices through the NFL+ package. It will be preceded by a late afternoon playoff game on NBC and Peacock that will kick off at 4:30 p.m. EST.

Subscription rates for Peacock start at $4.99 per month.

ABC NEWS
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NBC will air the game on cable networks for the two markets of the teams playing in the game. For fans who do not live in the cities of the two competing teams, they will only be able to watch the game on the streaming service.
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Bottom line - $4.99/month with ads or $9.99/month with limited ads according to Peacocks web-site. Most people will already be paying for an ISP and then additional charges on top of that to stream this particular game.

 

Aww, thanks Irish! ♥

 

Thank you Willie! That's much appreciated ♥

 

Maybe they have a "plan". These streaming services have promotional "free weekend" deals all the time to try and get customers to enroll. Maybe they are combining the notoriety of the playoff game and one of those promos? Or.....They are just greedy and believe they will get at least a number of new subscribers for one month. That's not a good play considering what it cost them. I just hope they don't raise the rates because I already subscribe to it. They have some good original shows on there as well as a vault of NBC series you can watch on demand. Decent value for anyone that has dissed cable at $50 a year. If you only want to watch the playoff game.. it's going to cost you $5 for the month of the game and you will get to watch as much of the streaming channel as you want for that month. If you watch TV at all, I'm hard pressed to believe you can't get $5 of entertainment value out of the month. If you say "fuck it, I'm not going to pay NBC for Peacock, I'm going to the bar to watch it".. Then you'll lose your $5 on the first two beers you order at a bar...

The one that gets me more is the games being streamed on Amazon Prime. I have been a Prime member for about 7-8 years I think, but I think it's crap that someone has to subscribe to the service for 4-5 months just so they can see bad Thursday Night Football games.

The fact that it is in January... for any outside the box thinkers out there... Get your Christmas request in now. I'm sure someone would love to get you a 1-2 month subscription to Peacock as your gift.

It's the NFL that needs to tread lightly here. If they start selling off single games to help these other companies make money, the fans will eventually tell them to fuck off. It will start with not "needing" to watch one game because they aren't going to subscribe to a service to watch it. When they realize their world didn't end by missing a prime time game, they will find other "excuses" not to watch prime time games....

 

Cool song and I feel fine

 

I'll just pirate it. Oops

 

It really does seem like there HAS to be a bigger plan in the works for NBCUniversal on that one. The home markets of the two teams playing that game will still get it outside of streaming, taking the most motivated portion of the potential viewer base off the table.

There's no way that Peacock will recoup $110 million on this game no matter what they do. They're planning it as a loss leader of some sort - they lose money up front, but they think they'll get bigger gains in the long run. Whatever that plan turns out to be, some kind of promotion where everyone gets in for free - boosting the ad rates in the process - could easily be part of the strategy.

 

Their plan is a simple gamble people pay 4.99 for the month to eatch the game then being you have it you check out a few shows and decide to keep peacock. Gamble 2 you get it for the game and then you forget to cancel it nd 4.99 comes out of your account every month.

 

The NFL most likely have contract obligations to each franchise to carry the game in the local market. It was probably non-negotiable.

edit: As far as Peacock, their market is everywhere else in the world. It's a playoff game, EVERYONE that is a huge fan of the NFL wants to watch this game, not just the two local markets. It's exposure to the channel. I don't think they are counting on 22,000,000 new subscribers for a single month... It's exactly what @Jeanquev said above, if they get 5M viewers and half of them forget to turn it off the first month, then half of those forget to turn it off the second month, then half of those decide to keep it... They made their money back. NBC already has over 1M viewers digitally on SNF. The average viewership for Thursday night football is 9.5M viewers... that's for crappy TNF games, this is a playoff game that cost you $4.99 to watch. Not per person, for the household and/or anyone else that wants to split the $4.99 to gather and watch at your house. This game will be viewed by at least 25M viewers, which is below the average for a playoff game. Take away anywhere between 3-10M for local markets and you will easily get the numbers you need to recoup your $110M. This was a smart business decision on NBC part. Remember, just because it is on Peacock streaming that we all have to pay $4.99 for.. They also still have sponsors during the game. Those sponsorships alone will make up half that. Each 30-second ad will run the sponsor close to $1,000,000. If they run 3 minute commercial breaks, 4 times an hour for 3 hours, that is 72 30 second spots, or $72M in revenue.... Now, take that away from the $110M, you only have to make up $38M in viewership, or 7.6M new viewers. Peacock already has 21M subscribers, which also helps pay for content.

 

I think these are all valid points/ideas. In my opinion, its simply to expand the NFL yearly viewership to beyond North America. Europe, Asia and all parts of the planet have access to the WWW, its a touch all the world target. A $4.99/month subscription is basically cheap and is kinda like the bait, a dangling worm on a hook, so to speak, to entice the peoples around the globe. Hopefully if this target, the world-wide market likes the product, 1 game wont be enough... packages to view the entire NFL season, teams of your choice will open up. NBC stands to gain viewers world-wide from the sports enthusiast's that may not buy into the NFL, but still get an American package of TV stuff and movies that might draw in more viewers.

Meanwhile, back to my original point... my gripe. Point #1 - What irked me in the first place when I first read this developing story, was the fact that the NFL, NBC and all the other rich folks behind all this, always seem to get in their little board meetings and make decisions without considering the common already hooked fans of the game AND this failing, ever inflating economy that already exists in this country, Cable bills, ISP's, Satellite services are already raking in way more money than necessary and a lot of us can barely afford it as it is, let alone the flat out poor guy who is already a life-long fan that has to decide whether to keep his Cable/ISP and eat macaroni and cheese every night. Point #2 - The two cities teams that will play in this Playoff game will have regular coverage, which is already mostly PPV anyway, outside of the digital to analog devices and an antenna you can get instead of cable and thats only good if a LOCAL over the air broadcast station is going to air it and thats not happening. So, in essence, we the people lining their pockets paying already too high of premiums are ultimately getting billed twice if we want to see said Playoff game. Too me, thats what I call BS. There are only a handful of Playoff games to begin with, so with this package you either pay twice or you get screwed out of a very important game.

The end.

 

Schedule fun!

In week 11, the Chiefs play the Eagles on Monday night. Meanwhile, the Raiders have a regular Sunday game against the Dolphins.

In week 12, the Chiefs play the Raiders on Sunday. The Packers have a Thursday night game that week against Detroit.

In week 13, the Chiefs play the Packers on Sunday. The Bills have their bye that week.

In week 14, the Chiefs play the Bills on Sunday. The Patriots kick off that week with a Thursday night game against Pittsburgh.

In week 15, the Chiefs play the Patriots on Monday night. The Raiders play the Chargers in a Thursday night game that week.

In week 16, the Chiefs play the Raiders on a Monday night Christmas special. The Bengals have an unusual Saturday game against Pittsburgh.



When the Chiefs play the Bengals on New Year's Eve, it will be the sixth consecutive game where they have had fewer rest / prep days than their opponent.

 

Report: Super Bowl LX is expected to be awarded to San Francisco



It’s not official yet, but it reportedly will be soon.

During next week’s meeting in Minneapolis, owners are expected to award Super Bowl LX to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, reports Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal. The game will be played in February 2026, and it will be televised by NBC.

Last month, Rams COO Kevin Demoff said SoFi Stadium will pursue Super Bowl LXI in early 2027, clearing the way for Levi’s Stadium to secure the game.

Levi’s Stadium hosted Super Bowl 50. At the time, it was expected to be a one-time quid pro quo in return for the building of the stadium. San Francisco and Santa Clara were not expected to enter the loose Super Bowl rotation.

Aiding the effort to return the game to San Francisco is the fact that other major venues, such as SoFi Stadium, will be hosting World Cup events in 2026, prompting them to pass on pursuing that year’s Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LXIII will be played in Las Vegas, and Super Bowl LIX will be played in New Orleans.

PFT

 

Cardinals are underdogs in all 17 games



The oddsmakers are not high on the Cardinals in 2023.

After the 2023 NFL schedule was released last week, point spreads are now available for every single game. And the Cardinals are underdogs in every single game.

That certainly doesn’t mean the Cardinals are going 0-17 in 2023, but it does mean that this could be an ugly season in Arizona. First-year coach Jonathan Gannon is going to have a tough time fielding a competitive team.

And the Cardinals may end up with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, when they’ll be faced with the question of whether they want to stick with Kyler Murray as their franchise quarterback of the present, or draft USC quarterback Caleb Williams as their franchise quarterback of the future.

PFT

 

I'll take on $5 a head for anyone that wants to bet that the Cardinals end up with the worst record in the league.

If I win, the $5 goes to a charity of my choice. If I lose, whoever takes the bet can claim the fiver however they want.

 

Im dead tired and a bit confused as always, but are you saying they will have the worst record in the NFL, because i think they will have the worst record, so if im understanding this correctly, Ill bet you $5 they WILL have the worst record in the League.

(I might have this backwards, sorry.)

 

I'm saying they won't have the worst record in the league, so if you are saying they will, we have a bet!

 

Excellent. We have a bet! Please remind me at the apropos time and we'll see what happens.