NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters that the league will “fish where the fish are” in terms of streaming games on digital platforms, but shot down the idea that a Super Bowl would ever be a streaming-only broadcast.
Goodell was speaking during an invite-only sitdown with selected media members ahead of the Super Bowl later this week in Las Vegas.
The NFL commish was asked about the pushback that the league received from football fans over the Peacock-only broadcast of the Dolphins-Chiefs AFC Wild Card Round meeting.
While the game was available on local NBC affiliates in Miami and Kansas City, the rest of the country was forced to sign up for the streaming service in order to see the game, prompting complaints from fans.
“Consumers are moving off paid television services and going into digital streaming services and platforms. We as the NFL have to be able to reach our fans there,” Goodell said. “We still have over 90 percent of our games on free television. No other league, no other sports come close to that.”
Goodell pointed out the growing audience on streaming platforms and the massive ratings the NFL ended up doing for the Peacock game – with 23 million viewers tuning in via Peacock, NFL+ and the local NBC affiliates.
He also mentioned the younger demographic that tuned in for the game.
“We have to fish where the fish are and we have a lot of consumers that are on those platforms. And the Peacock game showed that,” Goodell said. “Amazon showed that over the last two years. … Our fans are on these platforms and our fans want to access them.”
Goodell acknowledged that he wasn’t sure what the future had in store for NFL’s broadcasts, but one game he sounded sure would never be exclusively streamed.
And that would be the Super Bowl.
“Certainly not in my time,” Goodell responded when asked about the possibility. “One of the secrets of our success is that we’re really committed to broadcast television. As I’ve said 90 percent of our games are on broadcast and free over-the-air television. I think it is the reason you’ll see over 200 million people watch this game here in the United States and on the broadest possible platform.”
Goodell’s contract runs until 2027 and depending on whether he stays on or is replaced, that could impact the league’s view on streaming the “Big Game.”
The debate over streaming games is surely going to continue, even with players sharing in the outrage over the Peacock-only playoff game this season.
Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu took to X to decry fans having to sign up for another streaming service to watch that playoff game.
In response to a question about fans being raked over the coals having to sign up for all these streaming services, Goodell argued that they were getting more than just football on them and that Peacock had offered a discounted rate for those signing up to watch the playoff game.