Despite Poor Ratings For Amazon Prime's Thursday Night Football, NFL To Exclusively Stream Wild Card Game On Peacock

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Streaming isn't going anywhere. It's clearly the future of broadcasting. However, the future may be coming a bit too quickly. The NFL is diving in headfirst and is set to air a Wild Card playoff game on NBC's streaming service, Peacock.

The good news for fans in local markets of the two teams playing the game is that those markets will have the game on a traditional network, likely NBC.

For all other fans across the country, get ready to sign up for ANOTHER streaming service!

The NFL is diving headfirst into streaming, agreeing to exclusively stream a Wild Card game on NBC's streaming service, Peacock

The NFL is diving headfirst into streaming, agreeing to exclusively stream a Wild Card game on NBC's streaming service, Peacock. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Macy's, Inc.)

Ratings struggled for 'Thursday Night Football' last season. The games aired exclusively on Amazon Prime. No traditional broadcast networks carried the games on cable.

In addition to losing people who simply did not have Amazon Prime, the games stunk. Plus, streaming brings other problems into play.

Spotty Internet connectivity and high bandwith caused massive issues for many viewers. Certainly, cable is not without its problems. But I personally don't remember my cable ever needing to "buffer."

Video quality lagged, especially for those who don't have a top-notch Internet connection.

Despite the problems, the NFL is plugging forward down the streaming path. Why? Because NBC and Peacock are paying a boatload of money.

According to the Wall Street Journal, NBC is paying the NFL $110 million for one Wild Card playoff game.

That Wild Card games is not in one of the more coveted spots on Wild Card weekend. Peacock earned rights to stream the Saturday night contest. That's slightly better than the Saturday afternoon slot.

But it doesn't compare to any of the Sunday windows or the new Monday Night Football Wild Card game.

Still, it's going to be a game with massive implications, obviously. It's an NFL playoff game. And TV ratings last year showed that nothing draws quite like the NFL playoffs.

That's what makes the deal so interesting. The NFL knows people are going to find a way to watch. Surely, Peacock is going to offer plenty of free trials to get people in the door.

But it remains to be seen just how desperate Americans are to watch the NFL, especially the playoffs.

Depending on the number of viewers next season, this could be the start of a major trend shift in sports broadcasting.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.