While NBC championed the viewership of their Peacock-exclusive NFL playoff game last weekend, David Samson told Dan Le Batatrd, “Let’s not get too crazy.”
Samson was a guest on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Wednesday and was asked about what he made of the fact that a reported 23 million people tuned in to watch the Chiefs beat the Dolphins.
Aside from being skeptical that the audience was actually 23 million, Samson said the more interesting stat is the number of Peacock memberships retained.
“I want to know how many both signed up for Peacock and then kept it,” Samson said. “That is where the money is. The 23 million also is an incorrect number, because that number also includes all the people in Miami and Kansas City.”
David Samson said the actual number measuring the audience will probably never be known.
There was a lot of pushback on the NFL and NBC for making the game unavailable on TV outside of Kansas City and Miami. Also part of the pushback was from folks not hip to streaming or folks who couldn’t afford to buy a Peacock membership. But Samson said those people weren’t who the league was going after when it made the deal.
“The NFL could not care less about that demographic and having them understand where to find games,” he said.
“They’re focused on getting as many possible entities to bid for the right,” Samson added. “Peacock paid a hundred million dollars just for that game. Extrapolate that over an extended playoffs. Extrapolate that over a regular season, and you’re talking about a huge amount of money going to these owners.”
The success of the streaming-only game, Samson said, hopefully helped inform people that more and more games will be only available on a streaming service. He echoed a prediction by Meadowlark Media co-founder John Skipper in that eventually, the Super Bowl will be put behind a paywall. Samson told football fans to buckle up.
“It’s coming, and it’s coming soon,” he said.
