Amazon Prime lands NFL Playoff game for 2024 season as the streaming-only services slowly rise in the football world

Peacock became the first streaming platform to air a NFL playoff game this season.

Amazon Prime lands NFL Playoff game for 2024 season as the streaming-only services slowly rise in the football world

Roger Goodell, Commissioner of the NFL.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the NFL will send a playoff game to Amazon Prime in 2025, marking the second consecutive year the league sends a game to a streaming-only platform.

In 2024, Peacock made history by becoming the first streaming service to air a playoff game when it showcased the Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs wild-card round game. According to reports, NBC paid $110 million for the game and expressed interest in keeping the deal in place past 2024.

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But that agreement was only for a year, and as part of their “Thursday Night Football” package, Amazon was free to choose to stream a playoff game. Since 2022, “Thursday Night Football” has been airing on Amazon, with announcers Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels.

The Dolphins vs. Chiefs game attracted a sizable crowd, according to the NFL and Peacock, but fans were not happy that a playoff game was exclusive to one streaming provider. The NFL makes sure that fans who already subscribe to Prime for “Thursday Night Football” can watch the game without having to sign up for a new service by hosting it on Amazon.

Three of the six wild-card round games, which are now part of the expanded playoffs, were televised by either NBC or Peacock in January. Because of this agreement, NBC is probably only going to receive two games during the round next year, while CBS, Fox, ESPN, and Amazon will each receive one game.

NFL’s first streaming-only playoff game garnered a record-breaking 23 million viewers

The NFL walked into uncharted territory this season as they aired the Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff game on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock. It was the league’s first-ever streaming-only playoff game.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins (via CNN)

While the requirement to sign up for a random streaming service in order to watch an NFL playoff game did not sit well with NFL fans, Nielsen reported that 23 million people streamed the game on average.

According to NBC, with 23 million viewers, the game was “a milestone moment in media and sports history” and “the most streamed event ever in US history.” There were local TV broadcasts in the Miami and Kansas City metro areas, but the game was only available on Peacock nationally. Nevertheless, 27.6 million people watched the game.

The game itself wasn’t a thrilling contest. Kansas City ended up on the winning side as the Dolphins struggled in the cold conditions. The Chiefs won the game 26-7 and after a great postseason run, will play in the Super Bowl on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

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