Kremer handled Vikings DE Everson Griffen's mental health problems delicately during Vikings-Ramsgetty images
Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer made their debut calling "TNF" for Amazon Prime with Thursday's Vikings-Rams game, and Kremer "proved to be engaging, insightful and knowledgeable," according to George Thomas of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Kremer displayed those qualities "consistently through the telecasts." She also "dealt delicately" with the issue of Vikings DE Everson Griffen, who is dealing with mental health issues. Conversely, Storm "struggled during the game’s earlier moments as dead air hung around awkwardly as she didn’t set up the next play or seemingly had nothing to say." Storm "projected a remarkably dispassionate tone in some spots," while on some plays she "talked through the play, having to eventually catch up to the action on the field." Amazon may have "done them few favors expecting them to offer commentary from Connecticut" (OHIO.com, 9/27). YAHOO SPORTS' Chris Cwik wrote one issue with Amazon's coverage was that "no one could find the broadcast." When fans initially tuned in to watch the the game on Amazon Prime, they were "treated to the normal Fox broadcast of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews." In order to hear Storm and Kremer, they "had to change a couple settings on Amazon." Fans had to go to the audio settings area and find the Storm-Kremer feed," but people could "only get audio of the duo" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 9/27).
HAPPY WITH THINGS: NFL Chief Media & Business Officer Brian Rolapp said the league was "very proud" of Amazon using the first all-female broadcasting booth. He said when the NFL “did the original football deal with Amazon and decided we were going to stream this thing, we're always encouraging them to figure out new things to do, take advantage of the medium." Rolapp: "Just don't put television on the internet. Alternative audio was one of them, and they came up with the idea and said, ‘How about these two alternative announcers.’ We thought they were great.” Rolapp said the streaming numbers are about 500,000 viewers watching and called the "incremental consumption ... good.” He said, "The way we measure success … is first of all, it’s got to work. The quality's got to be high of the broadcast. That's what you really, really need first and foremost. ... You have a high expectation on a big screen of a high definition stream, you need that on the internet. That's sort of job No. 1. Job No. 1 is to make sure that the experience is more interactive and there, we’re just looking for incremental consumption” ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 9/28).
BUY MORE: QUARTZ' Ashley Rodriguez noted Prime Video subscribers watching "TNF" on Fire TV devices will be able to "click up on their remote controls to browse t-shirts, hats, and select other official NFL merchandise from the home and away team." The experience "uses Prime Video’s existing X-Ray feature, where viewers can jump to different scenes or see information about the program’s cast ... overlaid on top of the video." Shopping during "TNF" will "be similar." Fans will be able to "click up, select the 'shopping' tab within X-Ray, and browse the merchandise available for purchase." The game will "continue to play live in the background, so customers won’t miss a pass" (QZ.com, 9/27).
