NBCUniversal Is Home To Record Three NFL Playoff Games On Super Wild Card Weekend, Including Peacock’s Presentation Of NFL’s First-Ever Exclusive Live Streamed Playoff Game

January 08, 2024

The NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend kicks off this Saturday, Jan. 13 at 3 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock with a special 90-minute edition of Football Night in America, which leads into a milestone-rich playoff weekend for NBCUniversal.

Among the distinctions for NBCUniversal:

-NBCU will be the first media company to serve as the home of three NFL Playoff Games in a single weekend (Saturday doubleheader and Sunday in primetime).

-Peacock will present thefirst-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game (Saturday at 8 p.m. ET). This follows Peacock’s first-ever exclusive live stream of a regular season NFL game on Dec. 23 (Bills-Chargers).

-Saturday night’s Peacock AFC Wild Card Exclusive – featuring Patrick Mahomes and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Miami Dolphins — will once again feature a commercial-free fourth quarter similar to the Dec. 23 Bills-Chargers game.

The commentary teams for NBCUniversal’s three Super Wild Card Weekend games are as follows:

Los Angeles Rams-Detroit Lions – Sun., Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock and Universo)

Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Melissa Stark (sideline reporter) will call the Sunday primetime game as Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams visit Jared Goff and the NFC North champion Detroit Lions.

Stafford, who played 12 seasons with the Lions, returns to play his first game in Detroit since joining the Rams in 2021 and winning the Super Bowl in that first season. Goff, who was traded for Stafford in early 2021, leads the Lions in their first home playoff game in 30 years.

Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Tirico, Collinsworth and Stark have teamed on NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football – pacing to be primetime’s #1 show for an unprecedented 13^th consecutive year after the 2023 NFL regular season concluded last night.

Miami Dolphins-Kansas City Chiefs – Sat., Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. ET (Peacock EXCLUSIVE)

In the Peacock AFC Wild Card Exclusive, Mike Tirico will be joined by Jason Garrett (analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter) on the call as two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins.

Hill, who led the NFL with 1,799 receiving yards this season and is the only wide receiver in league history selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons, returns to play his first game in Kansas City after spending the first six years of his career and winning a Super Bowl with the Chiefs.

Garrett, a member of the Football Night in America studio team and NBC Sports’ game analyst for Notre Dame Football since 2022, has joined Tirico in the NFL booth for a Thanksgiving weekend game in each of the past two seasons. Hartung is the sideline reporter for Thursday Night Football on Prime Video.

The Peacock exclusive Wild Card game will be broadcast on NBC stations in the competing team cities, and available on mobile devices with NFL+. The NFL is the only sports league that presents all regular-season and postseason games on free, over-the-air television in local markets.

Cleveland Browns-Houston Texans – Sat., Jan. 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock and Telemundo)

Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter) – NBC Sports’ B1G Saturday Night team – will call the NFL Playoff opener as Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns visit top rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and the AFC South-champion Houston Texans.

Flacco went 4-1 as the Browns’ starting quarterback after joining the team late in the season, while Stroud became the first rookie in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards (4,108) and register a 100+ passer rating (100.8) in his debut season.

Three-time Super Bowl referee Terry McAulay will serve as rules analyst for all three games.

NBC Sports’ Innovative Partnership with NFL Continues

This weekend marks the continuation of NBC Sports’ innovative partnership with the NFL, which introduced flexible scheduling as Sunday Night Football debuted on NBC in 2006. Two years later, for the 2008 season, Sunday Night Football Extra on NBCSports.com and NFL.com marked the first time complete NFL games were widely available in the U.S. via live online streaming. SNF Extra featured additional camera angles, in-game highlights, picture-in-picture technology, live statistics and other interactive elements.

In 2012, NBC Sports and the NFL partnered on the first live stream of the Super Bowl in the U.S., a four-point New York Giants victory over the New England Patriots. For two games in 2017, NBC Sports presented Thursday Night Football with SkyCam providing the broadcast’s primary-viewing angle, utilizing a “dual” SkyCam system. In 2022, NBCUniversal hosted the first-ever “Super Gold Sunday,” airing Super Bowl LVI and the Beijing Winter Olympics on NBC and Peacock. Most recently, as part of the Peacock Holiday Exclusive in December, NBC Sports and the NFL collaborated on the first-ever commercial-free (fourth) quarter.

Football Night in America, the most watched studio show in sports since its 2006 debut, begins its Super Wild Card Weekend coverage on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. On Sunday, FNIA begins at 7:30 p.m. ET.

FNIA is hosted for the remainder of the season by Ahmed Fareed, and features three-time Super Bowl champion Devin McCourty and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, as well as Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist and two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, NFL insider Mike Florio, fantasy sports industry pioneer Matthew Berry, and co-host Jac Collinsworth. Maria Taylor is on parental leave.

NBC’s coverage of Sunday Night Football is led by coordinating producer Rob Hyland and director Drew Esocoff. Sam Flood is Executive Producer & President, NBC Sports Production. Fred Gaudelli is executive producer of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage.

Peacock’s expansive sports programming features live coverage including Sunday Night Football, Big Ten football and basketball, Notre Dame Football, Olympics and Paralympics, Premier League, NASCAR, NTT IndyCar Series, and much more. Peacock also offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel.

Peacock Sports Pass

For commercial establishments looking to show the Peacock-exclusive NFL Wild Card this Saturday, Jan. 13, it is available through Peacock Sports Pass. Peacock Sports Pass offers commercial establishments in the U.S. access to select events from Peacock’s exclusive live sports content library, including the Premier League, Big Ten football and basketball, and much more. To subscribe or to find out more information about Peacock Sports Pass, click here.