Starting next season, “Thursday Night Football” can be seen exclusively on Amazon Prime — and possibly at your local bar.

Amazon is reportedly in advanced talks with DirecTV on a deal that would allow “TNF” to be played in bars and restaurants, according to Sports Business Journal.

• The move would save countless establishments from having to either upgrade video systems to show streaming services or not show NFL games on Thursdays.
• Some large chains, including Buffalo Wild Wings (which has 1,227 U.S. locations), are not equipped to handle streaming video.

Amazon is paying $1 billion per season for “Thursday Night Football” from the upcoming season through 2033. It will be the first time NFL games will be shown exclusively on a streaming service. 

The company is partnering with YouTube channel Dude Perfect on alternate game broadcasts.

Sunday Ticket Next?

The deal could provide a precedent for a similar arrangement with NFL Sunday Ticket. The league is targeting a streaming service for the out-of-market games package, seeking a price tag of $2.5 billion per season.

Amazon is competing with Apple, Google, and Disney for the property. Sunday Ticket is currently held by DirecTV in a deal that expires after this season. DirecTV has said it is willing to partner with whichever network acquires the package. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell intends to select a winner of that bidding process by the fall.

Ferrari continues to benefit from Formula 1’s popularity, judging by the Italian automaker’s latest earnings report. 

The iconic car brand generated a quarterly record $1.3 billion in revenue in Q2 2022 — a 24.9% increase year-over-year — surpassing Wall Street analysts’ estimates of $1 billion in revenue. 

• Ferrari shipped 3,455 vehicles in Q2 2022, a 28.7% increase year-over-year.
• The brand wasn’t hindered by supply chain constraints due to small sales volumes.
• Sponsorship, commercial, and brand revenue reached $119 million, up 29.5% year-over-year.
• The segment benefited from the popularity of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team. 

With its impressive quarter, Ferrari has raised its full-year revenue guidance to $5 billion in revenue for FY2022, up from the $4.9 billion in revenue projected for the year.  

Trouble on the Track 

Ferrari is the all-time winningest F1 team but hasn’t won a Constructors’ Championship since 2008. Despite four wins this season, Ferrari has been marred by glaring mechanical and strategic issues, failing to meet the needs of drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. 

The duo will be with the Prancing Horse through the 2024 season, with Leclerc on a reported $12 million annual salary, while Sainz pockets $10 million per year.

Following the Hungarian Grand Prix on July 31, Ferrari is ranked second in the Constructors’ standings, with Leclerc and Sainz ranking second and fifth among drivers, respectively.

Activision Blizzard reported second-quarter net revenues of $1.64 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.59 billion but representing a steep decline from the $2.3 billion for the same period last year.

The company recorded a 15% year-over-year decline in adjusted sales, primarily attributed to a soft “Call of Duty” launch last fall. The gaming industry is slowing down as lockdowns lift — Activision Blizzard recorded a fall in active users from 372 million in the first quarter to 361 million in the second. 

Activision Blizzard still reported some wins.

• The company launched “Diablo Immortal” in June and claims that more than half of the game’s player accounts to date are new to Blizzard.
• The company’s King segment recorded a 6% year-over-year increase in net bookings and a 20% year-over-year increase for its advertising business. “Candy Crush” was the top-grossing game franchise in U.S. app stores for the 20th successive quarter.

“Even in a challenging economic environment, with so many companies announcing hiring freezes and layoffs, our development headcount grew 25% year-over-year as of the end of the second quarter,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said. 

Blizzard’s Activation

Microsoft is set to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, pending regulatory review.

Activision Blizzard has several releases planned for the second half of 2022, including “World of Warcraft,” “Call of Duty,” and “Modern Warfare II” — the sequel to the most successful “Call of Duty” title to date.