SI

The Truth About the NFL’s Streaming Ratings

Plenty of NFL fans were shut out of the Eagles-Packers game on Peacock.

Jimmy Traina

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (right) put on a show in Week 1.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (right) put on a show in Week 1. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

1. Peacock’s offering of Eagles-Packers from Brazil last Friday was deemed a ratings success because the game drew 14.2 million viewers.

When Peacock exclusively aired a Bills-Chargers game in Week 16 last season, the game pulled in 7.3 million viewers. So, naturally, the spin was, “Wow! Peacock exclusive game up 94%!”

So, sure, for Peacock, it’s great that it nearly doubled the viewing audience for its exclusive airing of an NFL game.

Clearly, between airing an exclusive NFL playoff game last season and the Olympics this summer, Peacock has increased its subscription base, which helped boost the Eagles-Packers rating. As of the second quarter of 2024, Peacock has 33 million paid subscribers. By comparison, Amazon Prime, which airs Thursday Night Football, has more than 200 million subscribers.

But the truth is, the NFL is still leaving tons of viewers in the dark by putting a game exclusively on Peacock. Just look at the viewership numbers for each of the standalone games in Week 1.

Ravens-Chiefs, Thursday, NBC: 28.9 million
Packers-Eagles, Friday, Peacock: 14.2 million
Rams-Lions, Sunday, NBC: 22.7 million
Jets-Niners, Monday, ESPN: 20.5 million

To quote Sesame Street, "one of those things (in this case, numbers), is not like the others."

So while the league likes to use the tired and played-out excuse of “we’re trying to grow the game” to explain putting games exclusively on streaming, the real reason is “we’re trying to make as much money as possible.” The numbers clearly show that a significant number of NFL fans are being shut out by the Peacock-exclusive game.

The good news is that after Peacock aired an exclusive playoff game last season, this season that game has gone to Amazon Prime.

2. A brand-new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped Thursday morning and it features a conversation with ESPN’s Kevin Clark.

Clark talks about his transition into TV now that he’s at ESPN, his interviewing philosophy for his Omaha Productions show, This is Football, and whether we will ever see someone who isn’t a former player as an NFL or college football game analyst.

Clark also discusses Tom Brady’s debut game as Fox’s lead NFL analyst, why Bill Belichick has already been a hit as a media figure, why he thinks we won’t see less of Hard Knocks, getting critiqued by his dad, his love of Pearl Jam and more.

Following Clark, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for my weekly “Traina Thoughts“ segment. In this week’s segment, we discuss Week 1 in the NFL, cringe Cris Collinsworth, the new Sopranos documentary currently airing on Max, the upcoming Vince McMahon documentary on Netflix, a Facebook kerfuffle and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

3. One of the things I discussed with Clark on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina was how good Belichick has been during his various media jobs. Here’s another example.

On this week’s Inside the NFL, Belichick explains his strategy for having the Patriots call a “fake timeout” to freeze the opposing kicker during a field goal attempt. This is such good stuff.

4. Every single person in sports media makes mistakes. It’s part of the gig. So, when there is a mistake, the question becomes, Just how bad is it?

In the case of Colin Cowherd breaking down last Sunday’s Titans-Bears game, the mistake was really bad and embarrassing.

Cowherd claimed that Tennessee beat Chicago, not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR TIMES. The third time came even after his cohost tried to correct him!

5. This story, as told by Joe Buck, about how he shattered his wife Michelle’s ankle with a golf shot, is absolutely nuts.

6. If you are a fan of Mario Kart, you will appreciate the clip of a mic’d up Baker Mayfield from Week 1.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 73rd birthday to Joe Pantoliano.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina

JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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