The NFL’s first all-streaming TV package will be coming sooner than we’d originally thought.
Amazon AMZN will begin its Prime Video contract to exclusively stream Thursday Night Football games in 2022, not 2023 as previously announced, extending the length of its contract with the NFL from 10 to 11 year, the company revealed Monday in its first ever NewFronts presentation.
“This expedited deal is an immediate differentiator for us as a service, as it gives Prime members exclusive access to the most popular sport in the United States,” said Marie Donoghue, Amazon’s vice president of global sports video.
Amazon first signed a deal to stream Thursday night games in 2017 when CBS VIAC had the broadcast rights and extended that agreement when Fox signed a five-year TNF contract the following year. Prime Video ended up having special feeds and features like alternate broadcasters, original content on Twitch and special stats and replay features. As with other NFL broadcasts on cable networks ESPN and NFL Network, Prime Video TNF games will also be available over the air in the local markets of the two teams playing that particular game.
The terms of the deal, which are reportedly $1 billion per year, will remain the same, Amazon said. There will still be 15 TNF regular season games and one preseason game per year on Prime Video through 2032. But Fox’s TNF deal will now end a year early, as we’re now just one season away from the first digital exclusive rights package in NFL history.
“We are a committed partner to the NFL, and we were pleased to acquire the rights to Thursday Night Football in 2018,” Fox Sports said in a statement. “Our priority was to further elevate the TNF package from a production, scheduling and viewership perspective, and we accomplished that objective. The package is as strong as it has ever been, and we will continue to build on that strength in its final season with FOX Sports.”