The Kansas City Chiefs are set to face off against the Miami Dolphins on Saturday in a matchup that will be seen exclusively on Peacock, an NBC-owned streaming service. Ahead of the game, Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu voiced his displeasure with the exclusive broadcast in a social media post.
Fans have already made it very clear that they are largely against the game being shown exclusively on Peacock. The lone regular season game that was shown exclusively on the streaming service, a Week 16 game between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers, had its fair share of pushback from viewers at home.
NBC also had a traditional broadcast on the same day (Dec. 23) last month, which far exceeded the Peacock exclusive matchup in terms of viewership. That game brought in 14.29 million viewers, while the Bills-Chargers matchup brought in only 9.9 million viewers.
If you ask most NFL fans which Wild Card matchup they are most excited about, there is a very real argument that this upcoming matchup between the Chiefs and the Dolphins would be at the top of most people’s lists.
That certainly begs the question, why would the NFL decide to put this game on Peacock considering the viewership numbers have traditionally lagged behind traditional broadcasts on network television?
Well, there are a few different factors that go into the decision. It obviously seems to be a focal point to try to boost up Peacock as a streaming service that can feature NFL broadcasts more regularly moving forward.
Some have even floated out conspiracy theories that fans of Taylor Swift could be inclined to purchase a Peacock subscription to watch her boyfriend, Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce in action.
Regardless, Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu took to social media to voice his displeasure with the Chiefs getting chosen for the Peacock broadcast.
“Us playing on peacock ONLY is insane I won’t lie,” tweeted Omenihu.
Us playing on peacock ONLY is insane I won’t lie.
— Charles Omenihu (@charless_94) January 8, 2024
It’s understandable for Omenihu to feel this way. Any player should want to be playing on a stage with as many viewers as possible. And Peacock simply hasn’t shown to be a destination that fans are willing to subscribe to in mass in order to watch just yet.
Maybe this highly anticipated matchup will change things for Peacock and generate more viewers than anticipated. But it seems like Omenihu is not convinced that will be the case just yet.
[Charles Omenihu on Twitter/X]
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.