Amazon gets NFL wild card game in 2025; Peacock to broadcast Eagles' Week 1 game from Brazil
The Chiefs-Dolphins game last season on Peacock was the first NFL playoff game to be streamed exclusively
An NFL playoff game will once again be broadcast on a major streaming platform, the league announced on Tuesday.
Amazon, which was awarded exclusive streaming rights to "Thursday Night Football" beginning with the 2023 season, will broadcast a wild-card game in Jan. 2025. The company is reportedly paying $120 million for the rights to show the game.
That reported $120 million price tag is $10 million more than what NBC Universal paid to broadcast the Kansas City Chiefs-Miami Dolphins wild card game this past season — the first time the NFL aired a playoff game exclusively on a streaming platform.
It paid off as, according to NBC, the Chiefs' 26-7 win delivered an average of about 23 million viewers and reached about 27.6 million viewers in total, peaking at more than 24.6 million in the second quarter. The game was also the largest day in Peacock's history with 16.3 million concurrent devices streaming.
Given the success of the game, it's no surprise the NFL went back to that well for another pay day and streaming platforms were willing to pony up.
Peacock to air NFL Brazil game featuring Eagles
While Amazon gets a wild card game, the Philadelphia Eagles' Week 1 game from São Paulo, Brazil, will air exclusively on Peacock.
No opponent has been officially announced, but Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy said following the NFL's annual meetings this week that the league is deciding between the Packers and Cleveland Browns.
While Green Bay is in the mix, it appears as though the Browns will be the choice. Browns defensive tackle Maurice Hurst let it slip last week during the Cleveland Browns Daily Show that, "We're playing in Brazil this year." He later walked that back on X.
Adding to the Browns-to-Brazil camp was former NBC Sports writer Peter King, who wrote in one of his final columns, "Feeling good about Cleveland-Philadelphia in Brazil on the evening of Friday, Sept. 6."
The game, which will take place at Arena Corinthians, will be the NFL's first regular-season game in South America and the first time the league has played a game on a Friday night of opening weekend in 50 years.
Both the streaming-exclusive games on Amazon and Peacock will also be broadcast on over-the-air television in each of the local markets of the teams involved.
The Week 1 São Paulo game will be one of five NFL International Series games during the 2024 season. There will be three games played in London, England, with the Jacksonville Jaguars playing at Wembley Stadium and the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings each hosting a game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The fifth overseas game will feature the Carolina Panthers playing host at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany.
