• Loading stock data...
Thursday, March 28, 2024
2024 Best Venues nominations are open now through April 8! Submit Now

‘TNF’ Draws Record Prime Subscriptions for Amazon

  • Amazon has exclusive rights to "Thursday Night Football" as part of an 11-year deal worth $1 billion annually.
  • Its first "Thursday Night Football" broadcast drew a record prime-time audience for the streaming service in the U.S..
TNF
Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Amazon’s media deal with the NFL is already paying off.

Prime Video broadcast its first “Thursday Night Football” game last week as part of an exclusive 11-year deal worth an annual $1 billion.

The game, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs outduel the Los Angeles Chargers, fetched a record number of Prime subscriptions, according to a staff note from Jay Marine, Amazon’s vice president in charge of Prime Video.

  • The game brought in more Prime sign-ups over a three-hour period than any other day — including Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Prime Day.
  • Prime costs $139 annually.

Marine also said the game drew a record primetime audience for the service in the U.S.

Amazon was targeting 12.5 million viewers per game. “Thursday Night Football” averaged 13.2 million viewers in its last season on Fox.

“While we’re still waiting for official Nielsen ratings, our measurement shows that the audience numbers exceeded all of our expectations for viewership,” Marine said. 

Amazon has a three-year deal with Nielsen, which marks the first time Nielsen will include ratings from a streaming service in its weekly television-viewing report.

“By every measure, ‘Thursday Night Football’ on Prime Video was a resounding success,” Marine added.

Prime’s Production Plans

“TNF” executive producer Fred Gaudelli has grand designs for Amazon’s NFL deal.

“I want to be better than ‘Sunday Night Football,’” Gaudelli said. “We have Al [Michaels], we have Kirk [Herbstreit]. There isn’t any real reason that our broadcast shouldn’t be as good as anyone else’s, and hopefully better.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL to Auction Media Rights to Two Christmas Day Games

Sources say the games are expected to appear on linear TV and that bidding will start at around $50 million.

NFL Executive Questions Logic Behind Streaming Giants’ Joint Venture

The ESPN, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox alliance is expected to launch this fall.

The NFLPA Report Card Is Doing Exactly What It Was Intended For

Robert Kraft hasn’t gone to school in nearly 60 years, but on Tuesday the Patriots’ owner found himself talking about his report card. 
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

MLB Opens Season With MLBPA, Ohtani, and Ownership Dramas

0:00
0:00

Featured Today

March 22, 2024, Brooklyn, NY, USA; Northwestern Wildcats guard Brooks Barnhizer (13) and Northwestern Wildcats guard Boo Buie (0) react in overtime against the Florida Atlantic Owls in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the Barclays Center.

‘An Expensive Game’: March Madness and NIL Collectives Are Intertwined

At schools nationwide, collectives are fueling NCAA tournament runs and vice versa.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (22) waits to be announced in the starting lineup against West Virginia in a NCAA Tournament round of 32 game Monday, March 25, 2024 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
March 26, 2024

The Women’s Trading Card Market Is Overlooked. Can Caitlin Clark Change That?

Traditionally, women’s sports cards have been a marginal part of collectibles.
The Sports Illustrated cover signed by Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, February 27, 2019, at Don & Charlie's, 7501 E. Camelback Road, Scottsdale. Don Charlie S
March 24, 2024

Everything You Need to Know About the Ongoing ‘Sports Illustrated’ Saga

Understanding the strange state of affairs for the nearly 70-year-old publication.
March 23, 2024

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Inside the Big East’s Bizarre Online Subculture

Peeling back the curtain on the ‘phenomenally weird’ Big East online ecosystem.

Careers

Powered By

Careers in Sports

Looking for a new job? Check out these featured listings and search for openings all over the world.
Live Nation
Multiple - USA Careers
Adidas
Multiple - USA Careers
Spotify
Multiple - USA Careers
exclusive

Threats, Demands, a Lawsuit, and a Website in Limbo: Inside the Chaos at ‘SI’

‘Sports Illustrated’ has new publishers, but the transition has been messy at best.
March 25, 2024

The Brian Kelly ‘Hit Job’ Kim Mulkey Ripped Is Barely About Brian Kelly at All

The article was hardly about Kelly at all.
March 25, 2024

Inside the Proxy Fight for the Future of Disney (and ESPN)

Dissident investor Nelson Peltz is seeking two board seats in an upcoming election.
Sponsored

How Daily Fantasy Sports Solved NBA Fantasy

The remarkable growth of the #1 Discord sports server in the world.
March 23, 2024

At ESPN, She’s the Storyteller of the Women’s Tourney—and What a Year It Is for That

Sara Gaiero sees Caitlin Clark hype as an opportunity to hook people on two ESPN products: March Madness and, eventually, the WNBA.
March 21, 2024

Ian Eagle Is Ready to Get March Madness Started

He succeeds Jim Nantz as the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS and TBS.
March 19, 2024

ESPN Locks Up a $7.8B College Football Playoff Extension

Network chairman Jimmy Pitaro announced the six-year deal at a conference Tuesday
March 19, 2024

WNBA Could Seek Its Own Media Deal

The league is open to splitting its negotiations from the NBA’s, sources say.