• Loading stock data...
Monday, August 25, 2025
Front Office Sports Honors winners are here! View the 2025 winners

Amazon Delivers Younger Audience in First Season Broadcasting NFL

  • Giant streamer averaged 9.6 million viewers on Thursday Night Football.
  • Amazon looking to compensate advertisers for audience shortfalls.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL is just as competitive off the field as on the field.  

Before the 2022 season kicked off, some executives at the league’s longtime media partners Fox, NBC, CBS, and ESPN privately hoped the new kid on the block, Amazon Prime Video, would fall flat on its face, said sources.  

But guess what? The giant streamer drew a younger, more affluent audience than the NFL’s legacy broadcast/cable partners during its first season as the exclusive home of “Thursday Night Football.” 

While Amazon’s game viewership was lower than that for the league’s former Thursday Night Football broadcasts across Amazon, Fox, and NFL Network, the e-Commerce giant gave the league plenty of smiles.

“Amazon has earned a strong reputation for making big bets, and given the unprecedented scale of this challenge and the hallowed place that NFL coverage holds among millions of fans, the launch of Thursday Night Football ranks high among our most ambitious enterprises,” said Jay Marine, vice president of Prime Video and global head of sports, in a statement. “We are only at the beginning of a long-term mission, but are ecstatic with the results and achievements of this first season, bringing millions of viewers to Prime Video every week.”

Meanwhile, Amazon is “scrambling” to compensate advertisers for audience shortfalls. The tech giant could give advertisers so-called “make-goods,” or free compensatory ads, according to Business Insider. Viewership was 25% lower than expected, reported BI.

“But advertisers are likely to give Amazon a pass overall, given this was the first season for a streaming-only ‘TNF,’ wrote BI. “Also, Amazon was flexible on ad pricing and has a wide array of offerings — from Freevee and Twitch — that it can leverage to make up for any audience shortfall.”

Zion Williamson and Pelicans teammates celebrate on court after a big play

Amazon May Have Proved It Can Stream NBA, Too

There may be mutual interest between Amazon and the NBA.
December 19, 2022

Amazon streamed 15 regular season TNF games this season as part of its 11-year, $11 billion deal to exclusively show TNF through 2033.  TNF was previously shown across a tri-cast of Fox Sports, NFL Network, and Amazon.

  • On an apples-to-apples comparison between Thursday night-only telecasts, Amazon averaged 9.6 million viewers per game vs. 13.4 million last year. That’s down 28% from last year. In an apples-to-oranges comparison that included a Saturday Christmas Day game on Fox with 29 million viewers, last year’s TNF averaged 16.2 million viewers. That would be down 41% (Amazon’s own internal metrics had its games averaging 11.3 million viewers).
  • All sports leagues are trying to attract younger viewers. Over the 2022 season, TNF viewers had a median age of 47 years old. That was seven years younger than the median age of viewers on traditional linear networks. And the lowest for a full slate of games since 2013.
  • Advertisers also love the coveted 18-34-year-old audience. Amazon’s average viewership among viewers aged 18-34 was 2.11 million. That’s up 11% compared to last year. And 22% of Amazon’s viewers were 18-34 this season vs. 14% on linear networks. 
  • Amazon viewers were more affluent too. According to Nielsen, the streamer’s Thursday Night Football viewers earned a median household income of $98,500. That’s 19% higher than NFL linear networks ($82,800).
  • Advertisers also care about time watched. Amazon viewers watched Thursday Night games for an average of 85 minutes this season. That was nine minutes longer than the NFL’s linear partners.  
exclusive

Amazon Wants Taylor Rooks For ‘Thursday Night Football’

Amazon Prime Video is interested in rising sports media star Taylor Rooks…
June 12, 2022

Before this season, Amazon built a broadcast team, hiring Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung for its announcing team and Charissa Thompson, Richard Sherman, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth, Taylor Rooks, and Michael Smith for its studio coverage.

With an impressive NFL season in the books, Amazon is now eying an exclusive streaming rights package from the NBA, which will be seeking $50 billion to $75 billion for its next cycle of media rights, said sources.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Titans

Crypto Group Claims Responsibility for NFL, PGA Dildo Tosses

The group behind many WNBA incidents says it has struck again.

MLB Revives Field of Dreams Game After Big Early TV Ratings

The league is finalizing plans to return to the famed movie’s filming site.

Fox Enters Streaming Wars With Leaner, Sports-Heavy Approach

A different strategy marks the arrival of the network’s streaming service.
Andy Reid

Andy Reid Office Shooting Went Unreported for a Year

Reid was inside at the time but wasn’t injured.

Featured Today

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up as the Texas Longhorns prepare to play the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the College Football Playoffs at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
August 23, 2025

Schools Are Hesitant to Allow PE Into Their Athletic Departments

Regardless of budget, schools don’t believe the risk is worth the reward.
Oct 2, 2024; Rosemont, IL, USA; Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti speaks with the media during the 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball media day at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
August 22, 2025

‘Not Ready to Jump In’: Power 4 Commissioners Aren’t Sold on PE

Top leaders in college sports have yet to see a satisfactory proposal.
Nov 23, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin looks at quarterback Drew Allar (15) during the first quarter against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium.
August 22, 2025

Private Equity Enters College Sports—Without the Equity

As college football starts, lending agreements have become PE’s best way in.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. (L to R) Quin Stiller as Will Zalatoris Caddie, Will Zalatoris as Himself, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio as Oscar Mejias and Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore in Happy Gilmore2.

‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched U.S. Movie Debut

The Adam Sandler, golf-themed movie sets more streaming records.
Jey Uso and Pat McAfee look at each other after Uso’s win Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, during the WWE Royal Rumble at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
August 20, 2025

WWE Will Leave Peacock for ESPN 6 Months Early

Peacock’s final show will be “Clash in Paris” on Aug. 31.
August 20, 2025

Bundesliga Bets on YouTube Creators for Live U.K. Game Streams

Bundesliga is the top German soccer league.
Sponsored

Building A Pro League From Scratch

Front Office Sports and Gainbridge® spotlight what it takes to build a professional women’s soccer league.
August 20, 2025

NFL Preseason Games Are Popping Up on YouTube’s Sunday Ticket

The $2 billion out-of-market package covers only the regular season.
August 20, 2025

Inside ESPN’s ‘Industry Shaping’ DTC Plan, What’s at Stake

Many bundle offers and opaque metrics mark the high-profile launch.
Kyle Busch talks with Nexstar Media Group, Wednesday February 14, 2024 during Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway
August 19, 2025

$6.2B Nexstar-Tegna Deal Could Create Local Sports Juggernaut

CW parent company Nexstar looks to acquire its rival in a major deal.
August 15, 2025

NFL Preseason Week 1 Delivers Record Audience for NFL Network

The channel averaged 2.1 million viewers for its eight live telecasts.