The '20 season will mark the fourth in a row that Amazon has streamed the NFL’s Thursday night gamesNFL
Amazon has renewed its deal to stream 11 “TNF” games per year via Prime Video and Twitch for the next three seasons. The upcoming season will mark the fourth consecutive year that Amazon has streamed the NFL’s Thursday night games. It also continues the NFL’s business-as-usual approach during the pandemic, as the NFL sold rights to Wild Card playoff games to CBS and NBC; opened the league’s free agency period on time and completed the NFL Draft without delays. A rights fee was not disclosed. When Amazon signed a two-year deal in '18, it paid $65M per season for the rights. This fee is believed to be significantly higher than that. The new deal syncs with Fox’ “TNF” linear rights, which run through the '22 season. Deal terms have Amazon streaming the 11 “TNF” games produced by Fox. Those games are simulcast on NFL Network and Fox Deportes. One new wrinkle to this deal: Amazon also picked up the rights to stream one regular-season game on a Saturday during the second half of the regular season. Amazon will have to sell rights to that game to a local over-the-air station in the two markets playing in the game. No other national outlet will carry that game.
IMPORTANT TOOL FOR THE COMPANY: Amazon VP/Global Sports Video Marie Donoghue in February spoke about why it was so important for Amazon to carry NFL games. During its streams, Amazon has incorporated commerce tabs into the game, allowing fans to make purchases while they watch. And it has developed next gen stats from the NFL and Amazon Web Services. “We’re not the same as the other services out there,” Donoghue said. “Amazon Prime is a membership service. You get benefits for being a member. Prime Video is one benefit you get for being a member. My job is to figure out how to use live sports to enhance that membership.”
