Now that the regular season is over, NFL fans can turn their attention to the march to the Super Bowl. That begins this weekend with the new Super Wild Card weekend.
The league rolled out its schedule for the Wild Card round of the playoffs immediately after the Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers. It features the new wrinkle of playoff Monday Night Football. That game will see NFC West rivals Arizona and the Los Angeles Rams meet for the third time this season.
The weekend will also feature a kid-friendly simulcast of the Cowboys and 49ers on Nickelodeon. That is not new. Last year’s Nickelodeon playoff game won rave reviews from both fans and the industry. In fact, CBS and Nickelodeon were so happy with the final product that they are bringing back the same crew to work this year’s game.
What is different is this year, Nickelodeon won’t just share its game with parent network CBS. Amazon is in on the action too. The game will stream on Prime Video.
It seems like an odd choice. Nickelodeon and CBS already stream through Paramount+, which will also carry the game. Perhaps it would have made more sense to pair Amazon with FOX, which only has one game in the Wild Card round. That is Sunday’s early matchup between the Eagles and Buccaneers.
A matchup between two big, national brands is sure to draw huge ratings. The Saints’ win over the Bears in 2021 delivered a combined 28.2 million viewers on CBS and Nickelodeon. Factor in a new viewing option and the broad appeal of both the Cowboys and 49ers, and this year’s simulcast could leave that number in the dust.
