NBC is gambling their $110 million investment to get a playoff game to be
shown exclusively on their streaming service is going to payoff spectacularly
in new subscriptions. I hope they fail spectacularly. I'm a Chiefs fan but I'm
not going to pony up. Instead, I will record the game when it is replayed on the
NFL Network overnight. I'll watch it Sunday morning. I'll just have to stay off
the internet so I don't accidentally learn how the game turned out.

Another option, which I used last summer to watch the Open Championship
in golf was get a free one week trial subscription to Peacock. I couldn't get
the local NBC affiliate due to a contract dispute with DirecTV so I signed up
for Peacock and cancelled after the Open.

If NBC succeeds in getting a lot of new Peacock subscribers, we can count
on more and more playoff games only being available on streamed subscription
services. Maybe someday even the Super Bowl will be pay-per-view. Maybe
the CFP playoffs will only be available on pay TV.

One other reason why I won't pay for streaming service is my only internet
option right now is satellite internet which is too low to stream high definition TV without buffering. I have to stream at lower definition. Data
caps are also too low to stream more than a few games a month.

> NBC is gambling their $110 million investment to get a playoff game to be
> shown exclusively on their streaming service is going to payoff spectacularly
> in new subscriptions. I hope they fail spectacularly. I'm a Chiefs fan but I'm
> not going to pony up. Instead, I will record the game when it is replayed on the
> NFL Network overnight. I'll watch it Sunday morning. I'll just have to stay off
> the internet so I don't accidentally learn how the game turned out.

Somehow, I don't think having one wild card playoff game on Peacock is going to result in that many new subscriptions. I have a feeling the real reason NBC Universal is doing this is to gauge whether or not it would be worth it to air some regular season games as Peacock exclusives, the way Amazon Prime does.
> If NBC succeeds in getting a lot of new Peacock subscribers, we can count
> on more and more playoff games only being available on streamed subscription
> services. Maybe someday even the Super Bowl will be pay-per-view. Maybe
> the CFP playoffs will only be available on pay TV.

Except for the Super Bowl and maybe the CFP Championship, I would say, "You can pretty much count on that happening already."
There would be too much backlash if the Super Bowl ended up PPV - especially if the halftime show was PPV as well.
I can also hear all of the NBC affiliates screaming at 30 Rock right now if NBC even thinks about airing the Super Bowl only on Peacock. The same applies to West 57th Street and Paramount+, or wherever ABC is located nowadays and any of Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+. At least Fox doesn't have any partner streaming service; remember, the Fox network had to be left out of the Disney buyout as the FCC would not allow Disney to own both the Fox and ABC networks.

What I can see happening is, if, say, Amazon Prime or Apple TV has the game, it would air it for free - but with the usual expensive ads. The problem now is, getting access to the network; unless your "smart TV" already has the network, you need to run out and buy something like a Roku box or Amazon Fire stick. Now there's something I can see - Amazon airing the game for free, but on a dedicated Super Bowl channel that can be accessed only on Amazon Fire.

On Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 8:31:16 AM UTC-8, JE Corbett wrote:

> If NBC succeeds in getting a lot of new Peacock subscribers, we can count
> on more and more playoff games only being available on streamed subscription
> services. Maybe someday even the Super Bowl will be pay-per-view. Maybe
> the CFP playoffs will only be available on pay TV.

The only way that the current sports model survives is if every meaningful game goes pay TV.

Sorry to break reality to people, but it's already coming home to roost in several of the major sports with the bankruptcies of the RSNs.

Mike

On Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 8:57:40 AM UTC-8, The NOTBCS Guy wrote:

> Somehow, I don't think having one wild card playoff game on Peacock is going to result in that many new subscriptions. I have a feeling the real reason NBC Universal is doing this is to gauge whether or not it would be worth it to air some regular season games as Peacock exclusives, the way Amazon Prime does.

Exactly.

You're probably staring into the teeth of a dual-exclusive deal -- half the season on Peacock, half on Amazon Prime.

The problem in the way is that most of the pro teams are utter shit, and you can't even get Al Michaels to give a fuck about the games, and you're hearing it -- from both him and future FOX guru Tom Brady.

> Except for the Super Bowl and maybe the CFP Championship, I would say, "You can pretty much count on that happening already."

The only reason Monday Night Football isn't pay-TV is because of the actor and writer strikes.

> There would be too much backlash if the Super Bowl ended up PPV - especially if the halftime show was PPV as well.

Oh, Hell. I see worse.

The game is six hours long and each quarter has a concert between them. All on PPV.

> I can also hear all of the NBC affiliates screaming at 30 Rock right now if NBC even thinks about airing the Super Bowl only on Peacock. The same applies to West 57th Street and Paramount+, or wherever ABC is located nowadays and any of Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+. At least Fox doesn't have any partner streaming service; remember, the Fox network had to be left out of the Disney buyout as the FCC would not allow Disney to own both the Fox and ABC networks.

NBC is already basically on life support as it is.
> What I can see happening is, if, say, Amazon Prime or Apple TV has the game, it would air it for free - but with the usual expensive ads. The problem now is, getting access to the network; unless your "smart TV" already has the network, you need to run out and buy something like a Roku box or Amazon Fire stick. Now there's something I can see - Amazon airing the game for free, but on a dedicated Super Bowl channel that can be accessed only on Amazon Fire.

They'd have to do something they aren't doing for Thursday Night -- remove the Twitch option.

Mike

On Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 2:21:22 PM UTC-5, Michael Falkner wrote:
> On Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 8:57:40 AM UTC-8, The NOTBCS Guy wrote:
>
> > Somehow, I don't think having one wild card playoff game on Peacock is going to result in that many new subscriptions. I have a feeling the real reason NBC Universal is doing this is to gauge whether or not it would be worth it to air some regular season games as Peacock exclusives, the way Amazon Prime does.
> Exactly.
>
> You're probably staring into the teeth of a dual-exclusive deal -- half the season on Peacock, half on Amazon Prime.
>
> The problem in the way is that most of the pro teams are utter shit, and you can't even get Al Michaels to give a fuck about the games, and you're hearing it -- from both him and future FOX guru Tom Brady.
> > Except for the Super Bowl and maybe the CFP Championship, I would say, "You can pretty much count on that happening already."
> The only reason Monday Night Football isn't pay-TV is because of the actor and writer strikes.
> > There would be too much backlash if the Super Bowl ended up PPV - especially if the halftime show was PPV as well.
> Oh, Hell. I see worse.
>
> The game is six hours long and each quarter has a concert between them. All on PPV.

I've never understood the attraction of the halftime shows. Mostly past-their-prime music acts doing a few numbers. BFD.
Whether or not I have rooting interest in teams playing, I usually get pumped up during the game and I spend halftime away
from the TV decompressing. I'll check my email or do something else on my laptop.

> > I can also hear all of the NBC affiliates screaming at 30 Rock right now if NBC even thinks about airing the Super Bowl only on Peacock. The same applies to West 57th Street and Paramount+, or wherever ABC is located nowadays and any of Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+. At least Fox doesn't have any partner streaming service; remember, the Fox network had to be left out of the Disney buyout as the FCC would not allow Disney to own both the Fox and ABC networks.
> NBC is already basically on life support as it is.

All the networks are just shells of what they were a generation ago. There's so much more and better content on cable. The
only thing I watch regularly on the networks is sports. I've never been into reality TV. Never have watched an episode of shows
like Survivor, Amazing Race, Big Brother, etc. The talent contests are just glitzier versions of the old Original Amateur Hour.
I know I'm an old fart but I don't find any of the current sit-coms to be funny and have never gotten hooked on any of the
recent dramas. The last one I watched regularly was The West Wing which is ironic because I'm a conservative.

> > What I can see happening is, if, say, Amazon Prime or Apple TV has the game, it would air it for free - but with the usual expensive ads. The problem now is, getting access to the network; unless your "smart TV" already has the network, you need to run out and buy something like a Roku box or Amazon Fire stick. Now there's something I can see - Amazon airing the game for free, but on a dedicated Super Bowl channel that can be accessed only on Amazon Fire.
> They'd have to do something they aren't doing for Thursday Night -- remove the Twitch option.
>
Amazon has ruined Thursday night football for me. My slow internet connection half the time can't connect and when it does,
I can't get the game on high-def so the picture quality is poor and there is constant buffering. If I am able to watch the game to completion, it usually finishes about a half hour after the actual game did. Most of the Thursday night games have been
crap and if there is a good one, I'll record the NFL Network overnight replay and watch it Friday morning. That hasn't happened
often.

The NFL Sunday Ticket is another thing I've lost. I don't have the connectivity issue I have with Amazon Prime but I can't
watch those games in high def either. Another issue I've had is I get a lot more games blacked out than I did when DirecTV
had the contract. I live a little northeast of Columbus, OH but I couldn't watch the Kansas CIty at Denver game even though
it wasn't on any of the Columbus stations. I'm guessing it might have been on a Pittsburgh or Wheeling station and they
considered me to be in their local market. With DirecTV, I would sometimes have Steelers games blacked out even though
they weren't on the Columbus stations. I subscribed this past year but I'm not going to re-up. Just not worth it.

I know we are going to see more and more content moved to subscriber services, not just sports. As a consumer I have the
right to say no and I expect I will be exercising that right frequently. There will be a lot of games I don't get to see but that
used to be the way it was. You got to watch only what your local stations offered. I'm wondering if in the future, the local
stations are even going to have access to the big events.

> NBC is gambling their $110 million investment to get a playoff game to be
> shown exclusively on their streaming service is going to payoff spectacularly
> in new subscriptions. I hope they fail spectacularly.

You are not alone by a long shot:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/01/08/nfl-playoff-game-on-peacock-angers-fans-chiefs

On 2024-01-12, The NOTBCS Guy <don.p.del.grande@gmail.com> wrote:
>> NBC is gambling their $110 million investment to get a playoff game to be
>> shown exclusively on their streaming service is going to payoff spectacularly
>> in new subscriptions. I hope they fail spectacularly.
>
> You are not alone by a long shot:
>
> https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/01/08/nfl-playoff-game-on-peacock-angers-fans-chiefs

Aren't they doing what they usually do and showing it on the
local NBC affiliate in at least the KC and Miami metro areas?
I think they will.

Not that I'll be able to watch the 'phins where I am, up the coast 150 miles...

--
An amateur practices until he gets it right. A pro
practices until he can't get it wrong. -- unknown

On Friday, January 12, 2024 at 1:02:41 PM UTC-5, Con Reeder, unhyphenated American wrote:
> On 2024-01-12, The NOTBCS Guy <don.p.de...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> NBC is gambling their $110 million investment to get a playoff game to be
> >> shown exclusively on their streaming service is going to payoff spectacularly
> >> in new subscriptions. I hope they fail spectacularly.
> >
> > You are not alone by a long shot:
> >
> > https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/01/08/nfl-playoff-game-on-peacock-angers-fans-chiefs
> Aren't they doing what they usually do and showing it on the
> local NBC affiliate in at least the KC and Miami metro areas?
> I think they will.
>
> Not that I'll be able to watch the 'phins where I am, up the coast 150 miles...
>
Yes, the KC and Miami NBC affiliates will be allowed to show the game but that still leaves
out 99% of the country. I'll record the NFL Network's overnight replay and watch the game
while eating my Sunday morning breakfast. Fast forwarding past the commercials and half
time, It will probably take about two hours. Just have to remember to stay offline Saturday
night so I don't see the score. I'm looking forward to watching everyone in the stadium freeze
their asses off while I'm sitting by my fireside drinking my second cup of coffee.