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    Saturday night’s NFL game on Peacock will not have commercials during fourth quarter

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    Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jerry Tillery (90) celebrates after making a sack against the Los Angeles Chargers during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

    By Joe Reedy

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    Saturday night's game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers already carried significance as the first NFL game to be exclusively streamed on Peacock.

    The matchup will also feature another milestone as NBC and the NFL announced Thursday morning that the fourth quarter will be commercial free for the first time.

    NBCUniversal says there will be a 40% reduction in the standard ad time for an NFL game which should result in at least 12 additional minutes of game-related content.

    Rob Hyland, the coordinating producer for NBC's "Sunday Night Football," said there have been discussions about this game since June about how to make it unique and distinct from a regular NBC broadcast.

    "The limited stoppages are exciting for me as someone that wants to tell the story of the game and have the time to do it," he said.

    During one of the two breaks of 2 minutes, 20 seconds, in the fourth quarter, the announce team of Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark will delve more into some of the game's storylines. The other will go to the "Football Night in America" studio team for their thoughts on the game as well as the upcoming slate of games for the remainder of Week 16.

    Hyland is used to producing events with limited or no commercial breaks as one of the lead producers for NBC's Olympics coverage in prime time.

    The commercial-free quarter will be sponsored by Capital One, Hyundai and Walmart.

    Saturday's game on Peacock will be preceded by the matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC, which should help deliver a better lead-in audience.

    That will be the same case on Jan. 13, when NBC will carry the afternoon wild-card playoff game and Peacock will have the night game.

    Games on Peacock will be broadcast on the NBC affiliates in the two team markets, which is the same case for games on Amazon Prime Video.

    NBC and Peacock haven't tried to set any ratings predictions, but it is worth noting that the "Thursday Night Football" package on Amazon is averaging 12.07 million viewers this season, a 26% increase over last year.

    Last Thursday's game between the Chargers and Raiders, where Las Vegas had a 42-0 lead at halftime en route to a 63-21 victory, averaged 7.98 million.

    Joe Reedy is an AP sports writer

    Tags:NBCUniversalNFLPeacock



    DirecTV calls off acquisition of rival Dish, possibly ending a yearslong pursuit

    Friday, November 22, 2024
    Dish Network satellite dishes are shown at an apartment complex in Palo Alto, Calif., Feb. 23, 2011. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

    DirecTV is calling off its planned acquisition of rival Dish after the offer was rejected by bond holders at that company.

    The deal was reliant on Dish bond holders agreeing to trade in the debt they held for debt in the new company, a swap that would have cost them about $1.6 billion, collectively.

    The retreat by DirecTV this week may end a years-long effort by the company to acquire both Dish and Sling after it announced the bid in September.

    DirecTV was looking to acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from its owner EchoStar in a debt exchange transaction that included a payment of $1, plus the assumption of approximately $9.8 billion in debt. The deal was contingent on several factors, including regulatory approvals and bondholders writing off debt related to Dish.

    "While we believed a combination of DirecTV and Dish would have benefited all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed exchange terms were necessary to protect DirecTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," DirecTV CEO Bill Morrow said in a statement.

    The prospect of a DirecTV-Dish combo has long been rumored, and reported talks resurfaced over the years. And the two almost merged more than two decades ago — but the Federal Communications Commission blocked the deal valued at the time at $18.5 billion deal, citing antitrust concerns.

    The pay-for-TV market has shifted significantly since. As more and more consumers tune into online streaming platforms, demand for more traditional satellite entertainment continues to shrink.

    DirecTV says that it will continue to invest in next-generation streaming platforms and offer new packaging options while integrating content from live TV alongside direct-to-consumer... Read More

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