The Aaron Rodgers effect is already benefiting Jeff Bezos’ Amazon.
Amazon Prime Video will stream the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game between Rodgers’ New York Jets and the Tua Tagovailoa’s Miami Dolphins.
The AFC East showdown will kick off at 3 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 24, from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Amazon’s complete “Thursday Night Football” schedule for the 2023 season will be announced Thursday night.
“We’re excited to be the home of the first-ever NFL Black Friday game, and what better way to kick off this new tradition than with a rivalry matchup between the Dolphins and the Jets,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video, Amazon, in a statement. “On one of the biggest shopping days of the year, we’re thrilled to offer another way to delight Amazon customers and give all fans free access to this AFC East showdown.”
Landing the league’s first-ever Black Friday game marks a big win for the streaming giant.
Fox Sports’ Thanksgiving Day telecast of the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants was the most-watched regular season game in history, averaging 42 million viewers.
Last year, Amazon’s maiden TNF schedule had multiple lackadaisical games. This game selection appears to be a makeup call by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the game schedulers at the league’s Park Avenue headquarters.
Meanwhile, Rodgers’ move to New York from the Green Bay Packers has turned the sad-sack Jets into media darlings.
Gang Green could be featured in as many as six nationally televised primetime games, said sources.
While the NFL’s complete 2023 game schedule won’t be revealed until Thursday night, some matchups were announced in advance on Wednesday. Among them:
- On New Year’s Eve, CBS Sports will televise an AFC Championship Game rematch between Patrick Mahomes’ Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and Joe Burrow’s Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium (4:25 pm ET).
- On Christmas Day, Fox Sports will televise the New York Giants vs. the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles (4:30 pm ET).
- The ESPN+ streaming platform will exclusively show Atlanta Falcons vs. Jacksonville Jaguars from London, England, on Oct. 1 (9:30 a.m. ET).
- Overall, the NFL will play five international games during the 2023 season, including two in Frankfurt, Germany. Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots will play their first game in Europe against the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt on Nov. 12.
