NFL on Prime Video
On the 4th of April 2017, Amazon announced a deal to stream ten Thursday Night Football games for the 2017 season. The agreement valued at fifty million dollars represented a five-fold increase over the ten million dollars Twitter had paid for similar rights just one year prior. This initial non-exclusive contract allowed only paid Prime subscribers to watch the broadcasts on their devices. Amazon planned special features for this inaugural game including alternate commentary feeds in Spanish and Portuguese. They also introduced a secondary English broadcast featuring soccer commentators Ross Dyer and Tommy Smyth. These international viewers needed help understanding American football rules and terminology. A pre-show hosted by Tiki Barber and Curtis Stone set the stage for the first digital experiment.
In March 2021, Amazon secured exclusive national broadcasting rights for Thursday Night Football through the 2033 season. The company agreed to pay approximately one billion dollars per year to become the first streaming service to exclusively carry an NFL package. Regular season games increased from twelve to fifteen annually while adding one preseason game each year. Amazon began producing its own broadcasts instead of simply picking up feeds from other networks. The deal included pre-game halftime and post-game shows plus original programming. Local over-the-air stations still carried simulcasts in markets where the competing teams played. For instance the 2023 Patriots-Steelers game aired on WPXI in Pittsburgh and WFXT in Boston. Prime Video took over the package starting in 2022 rather than waiting until 2023 as originally announced.
The 2018 season brought free coverage on Twitch alongside paid Prime subscriptions for the first time. Viewers accessed standard chat rooms with special football-themed emotes during live streams. Interactive extensions allowed fans to engage directly with the broadcast experience. Streams on Amazon Fire devices integrated X-Ray features to access real-time statistics and insights. An alternate commentary feed featuring ESPN anchor Hannah Storm and NFL Network chief correspondent Andrea Kremer debuted that year. This team became the first all-female commentary crew in NFL history. British English and Spanish options remained available alongside the main Fox feed. By 2020 Amazon replaced the British feed with a new Scout's Feed offering extended analysis by Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah. They also launched NFL Next Live on Twitch to enhance viewer interactivity.
In October 2020 Amazon acquired rights to stream its first NFL playoff game on Prime Video. The simulcast of one CBS NFC Wild Card game aired on the 10th of January 2021 between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. That same game appeared on Nickelodeon for a different audience segment. On the 16th of January 2022 Amazon streamed another playoff contest between the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. This event was also a simulcast of CBS coverage with an alternate presentation on Nickelodeon. In 2024 the company signed a multi-year agreement to stream one Wild Card playoff game per season annually. Like regular season games these broadcasts required simulcasts on local television stations in both teams' media markets. The January 2025 Wild Card game aired on WPXI in Pittsburgh and WMAR-TV in Baltimore.
Early broadcasts featured guest announcers like Beth Mowins who filled in as play-by-play talent during the 2018 season. Hannah Storm served as play-by-play voice from 2018 through 2021 before transitioning to analyst roles. Andrea Kremer worked as game analyst during those same years alongside Storm. Derek Rae provided UK English feed commentary while Tommy Smyth handled color calling until 2019. Ross Dyer stepped in as fill-in play-by-play for select matches that year. By 2022 Al Michaels took over play-by-play duties with Kirk Herbstreit joining as color commentator. Kaylee Hartung became sideline reporter while Terry McAulay served as rules analyst. Charissa Thompson hosted pregame shows alongside Tony Gonzalez Ryan Fitzpatrick Andrew Whitworth Richard Sherman and Marshawn Lynch. David Chang joined as contributor starting in 2023 followed by Ian Rapoport as insider in 2025.
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Common questions
When did Amazon announce its first deal to stream Thursday Night Football games?
Amazon announced a deal to stream ten Thursday Night Football games for the 2017 season on the 4th of April 2017. The agreement was valued at fifty million dollars and represented a five-fold increase over the ten million dollars Twitter had paid for similar rights just one year prior.
What are the terms of the exclusive national broadcasting rights Amazon secured for Thursday Night Football?
In March 2021, Amazon secured exclusive national broadcasting rights for Thursday Night Football through the 2033 season. The company agreed to pay approximately one billion dollars per year to become the first streaming service to exclusively carry an NFL package.
Which teams played in the first Wild Card playoff game streamed by Amazon Prime Video?
The simulcast of one CBS NFC Wild Card game aired on the 10th of January 2021 between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints. That same game appeared on Nickelodeon for a different audience segment while also airing as a standard broadcast.
Who served as the first all-female commentary crew in NFL history during the 2018 season?
An alternate commentary feed featuring ESPN anchor Hannah Storm and NFL Network chief correspondent Andrea Kremer debuted that year. This team became the first all-female commentary crew in NFL history.
When did Al Michaels take over play-by-play duties for Amazon Prime Video broadcasts?
By 2022 Al Michaels took over play-by-play duties with Kirk Herbstreit joining as color commentator. Kaylee Hartung became sideline reporter while Terry McAulay served as rules analyst.