TV Talk: What you need to know with the Chiefs-Dolphins game only available via Peacock
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Saturday’s 8 p.m. AFC Wild Card game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs will only be available via streaming on Peacock in Western Pennsylvania. Here’s what viewers need to know about how to watch that game:
What is Peacock? Peacock is NBCUniversal’s attempt to create a Netflix streaming rival similar to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max, Disney’s Disney+ and Paramount Global’s Paramount+. Peacock launched in July 2020 and includes next-day access to NBC and Bravo series (including “Saturday Night Live”), 8,000 hours of live sports and entertainment programming (including “The Office” and recent award-winning movie “The Holdovers”) and an array of original programming that includes “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “Bupkis,” “The Traitors” and “Twisted Metal.”
Who gets Peacock and how do you know if you get Peacock? When it launched, Peacock was free to Comcast’s Xfinity customers. That changed last year for some Comcast customers — and this is where it gets confusing because whether Peacock is still included varies by Comcast subscriber depending on their level of Xfinity service. Perhaps viewers’ best bet to determine if they still get Peacock with their Comcast subscription is to consult the FAQs on xfinity.com. Comcast customers can speak “Peacock” into their Comcast voice remote to bring up the Peacock app, but if they haven’t yet created an account or logged in, they’ll need to do so before they can watch.
How do I subscribe to Peacock? Whether or not a viewer subscribes to Comcast’s Xfinity cable, viewers can subscribe to Peacock at Peacock.com. Comcast customers can subscribe through the Xfinity X1 TV Box or Xfinity Flex streaming TV Box.
How much does Peacock cost? There are two tiers: Peacock Premium costs $6 per month and includes commercials. Peacock Premium Plus costs $12 per month and has no ads, except for sports, which do have ads. This weekend’s Wild Card game on Peacock will have a commercial-free fourth quarter.
Does the Chiefs-Dolphins game air on TV anywhere? Just as Steelers games on Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football aired on linear TV in the Pittsburgh market (on WPXI-TV the past two years), this Wild Card game will be broadcast on NBC stations in the competing team cities of Miami and Kansas City. Mike Tirico will call the game with Jason Garrett (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter).
Why is the NFL putting games on a streaming service? Leaders of entertainment conglomerates and professional sports leagues see streaming as the future of home entertainment as evidenced by cratering linear TV ratings, an increase in cable cord-cutting and the rise in subscriptions to streaming services. Compared to other sports leagues, some of whose games are exclusively on streaming, the NFL does make all regular-season and post-season games available on free, over-the-air TV channels in the local markets of the teams playing.
Do Sunday Ticket subscribers get access to this game? No, Sunday Ticket only includes regular season games. It does not include post-season games.
Do NFL+ subscribers get access to this game? The game is available to NFL+ subscribers but only on mobile devices.
Channel surfing
Ratings for Sunday’s “Golden Globe Awards” jumped 50%, going from 6.3 million viewers in 2023 to 9.4 million viewers this year. … Netflix released 16% fewer programs in 2023, per whats-on-netflix.com. … Disney+ and Mt. Lebanon native Dave Filoni are developing a second season of “Ahsoka” while Jon Favreau will direct a big-screen “Star Wars” movie, “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” a spin-off from the Disney+ series. … HBO’s “The Sopranos” celebrates its 25th anniversary this year with a collection on Max that includes 15 deleted scenes, including three that were never before released.