Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Media company Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was one of several companies to benefit from strong viewership of National Football League games in the 2023 season.
For the 2024 season, Comcast has secured rights to Sunday Night Football and will broadcast a total of three games, including one exclusive to streaming, during Week 1’s opening weekend.
What Happened: Comcast landed a streaming exclusive game in the 2023 NFL Playoffs with the rights to the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins Wild Card game.
The game was the most livestreamed event ever according to the company with 23 million viewers on average and a total of 27.6 million viewers during the contest.
Peacock announced that the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, both participants in the 2023 NFL Playoffs, will face off in an exclusive game streamed on the platform on Sept. 6, 2024, during Week 1 of the 2024 season.
The Friday Night Football game takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil and marks the first Week 1 game for the NFL on a Friday since 1970.
Comcast will now have four consecutive nights of primetime football during the first weekend of September.
- Thursday, Sept. 5: NFL Kickoff Game (NBC, Peacock)
- Friday, Sept. 6: NFL Friday Night Game (Packers, Eagles), Peacock Exclusive
- Saturday, Sept. 7: Big Ten Saturday Night, NCAA Football (NBC, Peacock)
- Sunday, Sept. 8: Sunday Night Football (NBC, Peacock)
"It's exciting for Peacock to exclusively showcase the NFL's first-ever regular-season game in Brazil as part of NBC Sports' unprecedented presentation of three primetime games on the NFL's opening weekend," NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said.
The Peacock exclusive game will be broadcast on local NBC stations for the Packers and Eagles TV markets.
Related Link: NFL Sticks With Exclusive Streaming, But What About The Super Bowl? ‘We Have To Fish Where The Fish Are’
Why It's Important: Comcast benefitted from strong NFL viewership and demand from sports fans last year.
In the fourth quarter, which Comcast reported in January, the company had 31 million subscribers for its Peacock streaming platform, adding three million in the quarter.
Peacock had revenue of $1 billion, which was up 57% year-over-year and hit the billion-dollar milestone for the first time in a full quarter. The company attributed its revenue and subscriber growth to the popularity of NFL and NCAA Football games
The National Football League continues to be a ratings monster for its media rights partners. NFL games represented 45 of the top 100 U.S. primetime most-viewed events in 2023.
Comcast had six of the top 10 most viewed primetime events in 2023, all being NFL games. This included the Thursday Night Football opening weekend game between the Detroit Lions and Chiefs, which had 25.04 million viewers and ranked sixth.
For Comcast shareholders and potential investors, the good news could be coming in the future. Comcast will report first-quarter financial results on April 25. This will include the results for the months that saw the Chiefs vs. Dolphins NFL Playoff game that was exclusive to Peacock. Academy Award-winning movie "Oppenheimer" was also added to Peacock during the first quarter.
Peacock could have a huge year in 2024 for subscriber growth with the strong NFL lineup and every Sunday Night Football game during the 2024 NFL season.
Comcast also has the media coverage in the U.S. of the 2024 Summer Olympics and plans on utilizing Peacock to air every event it can. The Olympics run from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
CMCSA Price Action: Comcast stock trades at $39.87 versus a 52-week trading range of $36.38 to $47.45.
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