CHIEFS-DOLPHINS PLAYOFF GAME EXCLUSIVELY STREAMING ON PEACOCK: Pro Sports goes Back to the Future!
The NFL is the only league that can remotely consider a pay-per-view model. Because Peacock is 24/7, and offers a wide array of other programming, Dolphins at Chiefs is not a PPV game, but for a lot it will feel like it.
Boxing adopted the PPV in the mid ‘70s, and multiple generations of sports fans know the only way to watch premiere fights is to fork over $50. Or $60. Maybe $80.
It made those at the top of the boxing pyramid obscene money, but the lack of exposure on broadcast television did incalculable damage that the sport feels to this day. Boxing ain’t dead; boxing is just small.
The challenge for NBC, and the NFL, is to condition the consumer to expect to spend extra money for an event that was previously free.
The challenge for the consumer/fan is to “Just say no.”
On a conference call this week with the media, NFL Executive Vice President of Media Distribution Hans Schroeder tried his best to “language” his way through questions about the outrage at NBC’s decision to air a game that requires a subscription.
“We look at it holistically,” Schroeder said.
(“Holistically” has replaced “synergy” in the corporatey-corporate dictionary. It applies to every potential scenario, and no one really knows what it means).
He continued, “There’s a number of different factors that we incorporate from competitive to fans to partners.”
That’s weird. No mention of money.
“We know and we see the continued evolution in the media landscape, and we want to be where our fans are,” he said of the digital world.
Let me tell you where fans aren’t: Peacock. Because if they were, there would be no outrage.
Yes. So is this a sign that streaming (and perhaps the NFL) is getting over its skis in 2024, to mix sporting metaphors?
● Sources: More than 200 NFL league employees offered buyout package.
● Universal Music, NBC Layoffs Join Tech, Media 2024 Job Cuts.
● Hallmark Channel & Hallmark Streaming Services Reportedly Lay Off More Staff.
Or is there another path for the league? ESPN, NFL in advanced talks on agreement that could give league equity in TV giant.