Peacock Hopes Ad-Free NFL Quarters Will Pull It Out of a Death Spiral

Will the promise of fewer ads entice more viewers to stream sports on Peacock? NBCUniversal hopes so, having announced Saturday, December 23’s match-up between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers will feature a commercial-free fourth quarter.

In a press release, NBC Sports promised “a groundbreaking fan experience with an over 40% reduction in standard NFL ad load resulting in more than 12 minutes of additional game-related content.” What does that mean, exactly? Expect “a branded moment” touting sponsors Capital One, Hyundai, and Walmart at the start of the fourth quarter with a reminder that no commercials will follow for the rest of the period. During those frequent breaks that inevitably happen in football games anyway, instead of trying to sell you phones and fast food “the broadcast will feature special content takeovers and game features, seamlessly integrating relevant booth and studio updates and analysis.”

As the Wall Street Journal notes, Peacock—one of the smaller streamers, with approximately 28 million subscribers—is banking on sports fans to become part of its loyal base; its other offerings include Big Ten college sports, English Premier League Soccer, golf, and the Tour de France. “For now, Peacock’s main priority isn’t to make sports profitable in the streaming realm, but rather for sports to power growth and keep customers hooked,” the paper writes, further adding “Peacock is expected to lose $2.8 billion this year. Subscriptions to the service are up 75% over last year, with sports content serving as an important driver.”

The ad-free gimmick is also part of Peacock’s enhanced presence on the NFL broadcast landscape, with “the first-ever exclusive live streamed NFL Playoff game,” according to the press release, coming January 13; teams are TBD but it will be an NFL Wild Card Playoff match-up in primetime. (Also worth noting, especially if you’re a local fan: per NFL policy, “the Peacock exclusive Wild Card game and regular season game will be broadcast on NBC stations in the two competing team cities, and available on mobile devices with NFL+”).

Coverage for the Bills-Chargers, dubbed the “Peacock Holiday Exclusive” matchup, begins on Peacock at 8 p.m. ET Saturday, December 23.

Update: This post was updated to include the names of the three corporate sponsors.