Posts about NFL
Ok, I understand this is peak off-season content and probably doesn’t deserve its own post however, it is the off-season. As the title says, this is pretty cut and dry, if the NFL wants a streaming only game on Wild Card Saturday, that opens up two spots on linear TV for the CFP semifinals on that Saturday.
Based on the release, NBC will show a Saturday 4:30pm ET Wild Card game on linear TV, and the primetime Saturday game will be on Peacock.
Granted, this is a one year deal and it might be back on linear TV in time for the first 12-team playoff, however, assuming it sticks (and there’s no reason to believe it won’t stick with the way the NFL has embraced streaming), that leaves an early afternoon window and a primetime window on Wild Card Saturday with no NFL playoff competition on linear TV.
I am in the camp you can’t compete with the NFL when they have games on broadcast networks. However, if the CFP is going to compete with Week 15 Saturday on NFL Network, the audience for Peacock is probably less than that.
TLDR: The NFL’s embrace of streaming has opened up a small opportunity to show college football on the day it belongs.