BREAK RECORD: Record-breaking streaming for the NFL Wild Card Game on….

BREAK RECORD: Record-breaking streaming for the NFL Wild Card Game on….

Few things are more quintessentialally American than Sunday football games. NFL and Peacock have further evidence if anybody wants it: The most streamed live event in US ever took place on January 14, the Peacock Exclusive AFC Wild Card. In a joint statement from Comcast and NBC-owned Peacock, it was said that 27.6 million people watched the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins game, which was the first playoff game to be televised solely online.

Peacock asserts that the livestream, which accounts for 30% of internet traffic, is also responsible for the highest amount of internet consumption in a single day in the United States. But as of right now, the information comes from Nielsen’s quick national live and same-day custom data; official figures won’t be released until Friday, January 19.

Not everyone was pleased with the webcast, even if it was a nice substitute for freezing in person during the fourth-coldest NFL game in history. Congressman Pat Ryan of New York was one of several people who voiced their indignation at having to pay for a different streaming service in order to see a game that usually airs on cable. “How much more profit do [NFL commissioner Roger] Goodell and NBC need to make at the expense of hard working Americans?” In a letter, Ryan wrote. “With the understanding that you wouldn’t use it to take advantage of fans, Congress gave the NFL an antitrust exemption in its broadcast agreements. It was obviously a mistake.”

Viewers in Miami and Kansas City may watch the game on their local NBC stations. If someone else wanted to watch, they had to pay $6 a month for a Peacock membership. In May of last year, Peacock revealed its intention to broadcast the wild card game, claiming that NBC had paid $110 million for the streaming rights.

The first race of the tenth season of the Formula E racing series, which is exclusively electric and sanctioned by the FIA, takes place this weekend in Mexico City on January 13. Apart from some teams changing one or both drivers, there aren’t many significant changes from the previous year’s race, which will mark the second year of the competition use the very economical Gen3 vehicle. But watching races in the US should be less difficult and irritating thanks to Formula E’s new TV agreement.

Watch Formula E now on Paramount+ and Roku.
In June of last year, Formula E announced a new TV arrangement to bring live event access to Roku and Paramount+, after its US coverage on CBS Sports. The Roku Channel will be the only place to watch 11 races live and for free. Additionally, Roku will provide race previews, replays, and Formula E’s Drive To Survive (Unplugged) for streaming. Every race replay will be instantly accessible on Roku, with the exception of the Mexico City E-Prix, which will be delayed so that CBS can broadcast it after an NFL playoff game.

There’s a new post-race highlights programme too, dubbed Recharge, to catch you up on any of the excitement you might’ve missed. The Roku channel will provide all Formula E video for free. The other E-Prix, along with any nocturnal events that could be shown on tape delay, will appear on CBS and stream live on Paramount+. CBS Sports Network will air more replays.

The Roku Channel is an ad-supported network, but according to Joe Franzetta, head of sports at Roku Media, there won’t be any commercials during the races. Rather, the business is collaborating with Formula E to display them in pre- and post-race shows. Given that the relationship is in its infancy, he did not rule out future modifications.

“For our first season with Formula E, we will run the races themselves as an ad-free experience,” he said. “We will continue to explore ad formats, such as picture-in-picture advertising as our partnership progresses.”