Although the NFL season is months away, Peacock and Amazon have already secured significant victories.

The NFL recently announced two exclusive streaming games for the upcoming 2024 season. NBCUniversal’s Peacock will stream the Week 1 game in São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Sept. 6, with the Philadelphia Eagles as participants.

Meanwhile, Amazon has secured the rights to another Wild Card game, marking the second time an NFL playoff game will be exclusively available via a streaming service following last season’s Wild Card game on Peacock.

Schroeder emphasized the interconnectedness of the NFL’s decision-making process regarding the placement of these exclusive streaming games.

Thursday Night Football games on Amazon Prime Video increase of 24%

In the second season of exclusive Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video, viewership saw a significant increase of 24%, reaching an average of 11.86 million viewers per game.

Although Amazon secured the Wild Card game previously held by Peacock, the league wanted to recognize Peacock’s historic performance in 2023. The exclusive Wild Card matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins attracted an average of 23 million viewers, making it the most-streamed live event in U.S. history.

The decision to hold the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in South America, in Brazil, and on a Friday night of opening weekend for the first time in over 50 years seemed opportune, especially with NBC airing the season opener featuring the Kansas City Chiefs the day before.

“We closed last season’s playoffs with Peacock,” Schroeder explained. “So, opening this season, Week 1, after a Thursday night game on NBC, allowing them to promote their Peacock platform for Friday night felt like a fantastic way to kick off the season and further strengthen our partnership with Peacock and NBC in a fitting manner.”

Beyond traditional ratings, streaming is offering the NFL a broader audience reach, which Schroeder views as a pivotal development for the league’s future.

“The streaming audience is slightly over eight years younger compared to broadcast viewers. They engage for longer periods,” Schroeder observed. “The Peacock game attracted the youngest audience for a playoff game in 10 years and had the highest female viewership for any Wild Card or divisional game we’ve ever had.”