Apr 12, 2025; Notre Dame, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Steve Angeli (18) watches alongside head coach Marcus Freeman during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

'Notre Dame Fans Will Need Peacock to Watch 2025 Home Showdown

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Apr 14, 2025 2:48 PM ET

2025 will be the fifth-straight season that Notre Dame plays a home game that is shown exclusively on NBC's streaming app, Peacock. Saturday during the Blue-Gold Game, that aired exclusively on Peacock, the choice for 2025's Peacock game was revealed.

Notre Dame plays an impressive schedule in 2025, but only one Fighting Irish opponent also qualified for the College Football Playoff last year. That opponent is Boise State, who comes to Notre Dame Stadium on October 4, and that game will air exclusively on the streaming service.

That will be the first meeting between Notre Dame and Boise State all-time and could very easily have College Football Playoff implications. Notre Dame has a very difficult first month of the season and may not have much wiggle room to the College Football Playoff when the Broncos come-a-calling. Meanwhile the Broncos were able to overcome an out-of-conference loss at Oregon last season before qualifying for the College Football Playoff.

NBC and Notre Dame confirmed that the Boise State game on 10/4 will indeed be on Peacock as part of the Blue-Gold. H/T @ndbass_2001 pic.twitter.com/5Up801x094
— Matt Sarzyniak (@mattsarz) April 13, 2025

For years, I was against the idea of a Notre Dame home football game not being shown on free television. When Knute Rockne helped build Notre Dame football into the national brand it is, allowing multiple big-time radio stations to broadcast the game for free were a huge factor in the program's national rise.

However, as Notre Dame has to be creative to generate money to remain independent, having an annual game on NBC's streaming platform means more money for NBC, which in turns means more for Notre Dame. I still don't love the idea of it but if its a necessity to remain independent in football than I'd rather see the program go that route than join the rest of the sheep in joining a conference.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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