Last season, fans had the option of watching Thursday Night Football on Amazon. Soon, for some games, it might be the only choice.
Amazon is in talks with the NFL over exclusive broadcast rights to some Thursday Night Football games, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The tech giant has broadcast TNF matches since 2017 on Amazon Prime Video but has never done so exclusively, sharing games with Fox and the NFL Network in years past.
However, Fox has lost interest in the midweek games, and no other legacy provider seems eager to take its place. Amazon, in its most aggressive move to date into live sports, may take advantage of the traditional networks’ reticence.
Should Amazon secure exclusive rights, they won’t be cheap. The NFL is poised to double the price of its broadcasting contracts in the deals it’s negotiating with CBS, NBC, Disney, and Fox.
Amazon pays between $75-100 million annually for non-exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football in a deal that runs for two more seasons.
Live sports is “the most important Jenga block holding up the entire legacy media ecosystem,” said LightShed media analyst Rich Greenfield. Amazon’s move could shake the foundation.
