Playoff game behind a Peacock paywall is a new frontier in NFL's embrace of streaming

abcnews.go.com:

The quarterback matchup between Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes isn’t the only major storyline going into their AFC wild card game

The quarterback matchup between Miami's Tua Tagovailoa and Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes isn't the only major storyline going into their AFC wild card game.

Another question is how many fans will pay to watch one of the NFL's important games of the season being carried exclusively on a streaming platform for the first time.

Saturday night's game will be shown on Peacock after NBCUniversal won the rights last May. The game will be broadcast on the NBC affiliates in Kansas City and Miami, following the NFL's protocol for Thursday night games streamed on Amazon Prime Video.

Everyone else will have to pay for a Peacock subscription — plans start at $5.99 per month — to watch the game, and some fans are less than thrilled about the NFL putting a playoff game behind a paywall for the first time.

According to various reports, NBCUniversal paid $110 million for the rights to the game.

“I mean, the NFL, which prints money — that’s got more money than God — they gotta make another $110 million for that stupid Peacock game,” commentator Chris Russo said on ESPN's “First Take” program. “Oh my God, that drove me crazy! That is being a pig! That’s what that’s being.

«So, the poor person who’s 75 years of age, who’s followed the Chiefs since (Hank) Stram and Len Dawson, has gotta figure out on his remote where to get the stupid game and pay for the streaming service to see a playoff game!”

Under the NFL’s contract, each of its four broadcast partners — NBC, CBS, Fox and ESPN/ABC — gets at least one wild-card game. Of the two remaining games, one rotates each year between NBC, CBS