Not that you really needed any more evidence, but the era of live sports on streaming services isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. To wit: Peacock — the streaming service owned by NBCUniversal — says that the January 14 NFL postseason game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins was the “most-streamed live event in U.S. history.”
While we’re a little inclined to take streaming numbers with some skepticism, we’re also inclined to believe that statement, for a number a reasons. First is that more people are streaming than ever before. And that number is likely to continue to climb for the foreseeable future. Second is that this AFC Wild Card game was (mostly) only available on Peacock. It wasn’t on NBC’s broadcast channels, unless you were in the teams’ hometowns of Miami or Kansas City. The game was available on NFL+, however.
And third is that Peacock is sourcing Nielsen for its stats.
Also helping things were the numerous storylines within the game itself. Miami was hot earlier in the year, but it’s struggled in the playoffs in recent years. (And again this year, losing 26-7 to the Chiefs.) Kansas City has had another powerhouse season behind its near-legendary coach, Andy Reid. It was the fourth-coldest game on record, as evidenced by Reid’s frozen mustache.
And, of course, there’s Taylor Swift.
So the game had all the makings of a must-watch live event, which worked out perfectly for Peacock. Here are some numbers on that front:
That last number is interesting because we can compare it with other recent NFL events. Super Bowl LVII, which aired on Fox in February 2023, averaged 7 million streams. And Super Bowl LIV, which aired on NBC in February 2022, had an AMA of 6 million, which increased to 11.2 million if you count “co-viewing” from connected devices.
So, yeah. More people streamed the Chiefs-Dolphins than ever before. Look for that trend to continue. That was the only game of this postseason to see exclusivity on a streaming service, however.
Super Bowl LVII is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 11. It’ll be broadcast on CBS, and also be available on Nickelodeon and Paramount+.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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