Posted on 01/16/2024 2:28:26 AM PST by Red Badger
The NFL Playoffs are finally here, and the first weekend featured less-than-stellar matchups. What looked to be good games on paper turned, for the most part, into one-sided, boring affairs. There were great individual performances, such as Jordan Love of the Packers again disappointing Dallas Cowboys fans and a great storyline with Christian quarterback C.J. Stroud becoming the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game. However, for the most part, the action on the field was sloppy and uninspiring.
The premier matchup of the weekend was the high-scoring Miami Dolphins traveling to frigid Kansas City to take on the struggling Super Bowl Champion Chiefs. Even that game was a dud, but did anyone see it? Considerably fewer people saw that game than usual due to a unique arrangement between the NFL and the NBC-owned streaming service Peacock.
For the first time ever, the league showed a playoff game on streaming only, severely limiting who could actually watch the game from the frozen tundra of Kansas City. While the game was broadcast over the air in Kansas City and Miami, the rest of the country was left to either stream or go without.
Peacock backed the truck up to the NFL and shelled out a reported $110 million dollars for exclusive rights to the game, which could be a harbinger of things to come. It is widely speculated that the league and networks plan to transition the NFL into streaming only as broadcast television continues to die. When the current television deal is up, the league could look to streaming moving forward. That prospect isn’t sitting well with many fans, including some more well-known ones.
New York sports talk legend Mike Francesa let his feelings be known on X before the game. He wrote: “Not only is the NFL’s greedy Peacock adventure a disgrace, but the quality of the telecast is equally disgraceful. Fix the technology.” There appeared to be numerous technical issues with the stream, including reduced resolution and buffering, causing a choppy picture.
Another issue with streaming is the delay. When games are streamed, if fans are listening to the radio broadcasters as many do or even following along on X, the action on the stream is considerably delayed compared to the live feed. It sounds like a small issue, but considering the popularity of social media and fantasy sports, the delay is a definite annoyance.
The cost for Peacock isn’t what was keeping most fans from signing up and watching. Francesca was harsh in his criticism of the league from a financial perspective. He said: “The Peacock Playoff exclusive. Nothing short of a complete greedy disregard for their incredible fans. The NFL banked 110 million for the game, and fans be damned.” At least one Chief agreed: defensive end Charles Omenihu purchased 90 subscriptions for fans and commented on X, “Us playing on peacock ONLY is insane I won’t lie.”
Money aside, fans seemed most upset about the 2010s quality of the stream. One fan snarkily wrote on X: “Great job, @peacock. Broadcasting an NFL playoff game in Pixelvision was a stroke of genius. Maybe add a server or two before you try to hold fans hostage with your janky service.,” while another said, “Your streaming is AWFUL! Jerky, buffers and the color washes out.”
Perhaps the narrative would be slightly different if the game had been more competitive. The Chiefs froze out the Dolphins 26-7 in a game that didn’t seem that close. However, fans are going to demand a quality stream, especially if they have to pay, and this time, Peacock fumbled the ball and $110 million dollars.
“And to add to that, the new subscribers can cancel anytime.................”
I guess you never tried to cancel a Seris/XM account LOL.
The Roman promoters really did things right
They needed a show that would clearly excite
The attendance was sparse so they put on a fight
Threw the Christians to the lions, sold out every night
Give the people what they want!
You gotta give the people what they want!
The more they get, the more they need
And every time they get harder and harder to please
-The Kinks
Thanks for that reminder!
Never had a vehicle with them in it................
Millions of those fans don’t care if the players hate our country but they care about ten dollars?
Peacock = NBC = Comcast = American Enemy
Peacock is a part of an enemy more dangerous to America tnan Russia or North Korea or France
I remember watching boxing on TV with my Father when I was a little girl. Had to be late 1950’s.
I remember watching boxing on TV every Friday night with my Father when I was a little girl. Had to be late 1950’s.
It doesn’t matter who owns it, they are all the same. If Disney owned it, if Time-Warner owned it, if Murdoch owned it, they would still be the same.................
I’ve said before and I’ll say it again...
Streaming sucks.
There has got to be improvement in the delivery. It is anger inducing to try to watch a show without stupid interruptions.
Hate to say it, but Cable is more stable.
I spent the last five weeks at my daughter’s house where my SIL has YouTube tv, ESPN, Peacock, and Paramount. It was great, we watched all the football games on enormous tv’s. Sadly, I came back home this weekend and spent most of my time fighting with my Firestick or trying to adjust my antenna. Think I’ll make this a yearly trip but plan to stay till after the Super Bowl. As long as I root for the Lions, I’m golden.
I’m surprised nobody has condemned this as being racist, because poor blacks can’t afford High-Speed Internet.
LOL
I paid $5.99 to watch KC on Peacock. Only game in town so to speak. I experienced no buffering. However, color wash out did occur and camera operators could have been better.
I’ll keep Peacock for another month until I can watch Oppenheimer, then cancel.
Go Chiefs!
It’s a bone headed PR move by the NFL. Kinda like Bud Light hiring Dylan Mulvaney.
If they want to stream then announce it before the season so people can make a choice. The NFL has been mixing up viewers for a while, from using the NFL network, to Prime and now peacock.
I only asked for transparency early on, so you know that if you buy NFL ticket, or some other service, what you will and what you won’t see.
Four or five days before the game I received an email from peacock(look legit) offering an annual subscription for $2. Think they were trying to build their base. I wouldn’t sign up if it was free
I watched the game on my Amazon Firestick.
My son couldn’t get the game to stay on. It kept switching to a data page for minutes at a time detailing the game stats. M’boy gave up and cancelled.
Others said it was crappy video, shaky, freezes, no HD, and poor on filed production not professional level at all...............
How was the picture quality?
Several have said it sucked..................
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