With the NFL Playoffs round fast approaching, the Wild Card Weekend has the potential to break viewership records and maintain the league’s dominance in TV ratings.
Currently, the Detroit Lions vs Dallas Cowboys game back in 2015 remains the most-watched Wild Card weekend game. The match draws up to 42 million viewers, the most viewership attained in a Wild Card Weekend game in almost a decade.
Another Wild Card Weekend game came close to breaking the 2015 record. A clash between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in 2022 became the most-watched NFL Wild Card game in seven years, with an average of 41.5 million viewers.
However, the Lions’ upcoming game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night has the potential to surpass both records. Predictions indicate that most games this weekend will attract a viewership of at least 25 million, even likely to reach the 30 million mark quite easily.
Last year, the New York Giants vs Minnesota Vikings Wild Card game led in viewership with 33.21 million, as Nielsen and Sports Media Watch reported. The least-watched game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers still garnered slightly over 20 million viewers.
Dallas and Washington’s match now sits at the top 5 on the NFL rating list for the past Wild Card Weekend in 2023. In their 38-10 match with Dallas as the winner, the match garnered 21.73 million viewers. The Buffalo vs Miami clash with 21.73 million viewers is closely behind them.
Peacock-exclusive decision
With the NFL’s TV popularity consistently rising, Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football also experienced a notable increase. Rising by 24 percent compared to the previous season and averaging 11.86 million viewers, this surge in streaming numbers signifies a positive trend for the platform.
Furthermore, the league has recently decided to stream the January 13 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins exclusively on the streaming service Peacock.
“Obviously, we’re taking a big step forward here with Peacock,” EVP and COO of NFL Media Hans Schroeder said. “We’re excited about this next step of making the game exclusively available on Peacock, but we do that with a lot of confidence and a lot of experience already behind us.”
Peacock, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group, is preparing for its first platform-exclusive game. NBC Sports president Rick Cordella is especially confident of his platform’s capabilities.
“We’ve streamed the Super Bowl, World Cup, Olympics, and WrestleMania in the past; Premier League each weekend; Sunday Night Football throughout the season,” Cordella said. “This is not new territory for us, and I have confidence that our product and tech teams will deliver a great experience for the viewers Saturday evening.”
Cordella also mentioned how NBS Sports has prepared alternatives and contingency plans. While not delving into the specifics, the technical and engineering teams are ready to address any unforeseen issue that may arise.
The Wild Card Weekend schedule is set with an exciting lineup of matchups. On Saturday, the Cleveland Browns will face the Houston Texans at 4:30 pm ET on NBC. Following that will be the awaited Peacock-exclusive Dolphins vs. Chiefs at 8 pm ET.
Sunday kicks off with the Steelers going against the Bills at 1 pm ET on CBS. In the late afternoon, the Green Bay Packers square off with the Dallas Cowboys at 4:30 pm ET on Fox.
The Sunday night game features the Rams and the Lions at 8 pm ET on NBC. Lastly, the Wild Card Weekend concludes on Monday with the Philadelphia Eagles challenging the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 8:15 pm ET, airing on ABC and simulcast on ESPN and ESPN+.