Mad Dog Russo blasts Roger Goodell for endorsing Peacock, streaming platforms for NFL coverage: “Bunch of freaking nonsense”
The NFL broadcasted a playoff game exclusively on the streaming service Peacock last month. Now, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is standing by his decision of airing the Kansas City Chiefs vs Miami Dolphins game exclusively on the streaming platform.
Longtime sports radio host Chris "Mad Dog" Russo is fighting back at Goodell's decision. On ESPN's "First Take" Wednesday morning, he took up his issue about Goodell. Stating that he is only supporting the idea of streaming NFL games because of the money the league made from it.
"Now hold on, what are we an idiot? I got younger kids, they stream, but they are sports fans. You think they couldn't find a game on NBC, CBS, FOX, or our network if the game is there? Oh, come on, this is football. They had 23 million for the Chiefs-Dolphins game. The next night with the Lions against the Rams on NBC, they had 38 million."
"So the idea that they're doing the young audience a tremendous service by showing a game in the postseason on streaming is a bunch of freaking nonsense. They did it because the NBC people gave them $110 million for the one stupid game. So all the owners split the $55 million and they make a fortune… Nonsense, it's NFL playoff football…”"
Mad Dog compared the 23 million viewers the streaming playoff game received to the 38 million views the Detroit Lions national broadcast had the following day. He believes that only true football fans who want to watch the game will tune in and the league will lose casual fans who won't go out of their way to stream it.
How much did Peacock pay the NFL to air an AFC playoff game?
The National Football League already made a statement about streaming games when they partnered with Amazon Prime on Thursday nights. This season though, the league took their dedication to streaming services a step further when they aired an AFC playoff game only on Peacock.
The league has faced backlash from the decision as many fans stated they didn't have access to the platform and didn't want to pay an additional fee to watch one game.
According to USA Today, Peacock paid $110 million to the NFL in order to air the game between the Chiefs and Dolphins.
Whether the league decides to air another streaming service exclusive game in the 2024 season remains to be seen.