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Amazon’s Prime Video is in the midst of a 10-year media rights deal with the National Football League that grants it the ability to present Thursday Night Football throughout the regular season for a reported $1 billion annually. The company has achieved record viewership in its third year thus far, and it is also set to present its first NFL Playoff game during the Wild Card round in January.
Before the postseason action commences though, the property will broadcast its second annual Black Friday game when the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs aim to secure an 11th victory in 12 games facing the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs have not appeared on Thursday Night Football all season and have played in four of the five most-viewed NFL matchups during the 2024 season thus far, according to data from the National Football League ahead of Week 12.
Amazon reportedly pays $100 million a year to broadcast the Black Friday Football game, which it uses to promote other areas of its business as well. There will be several interactive elements embedded within the broadcast and interactive features displayed as well. Unlike traditional Thursday Night Football matchups, the game is free to watch for anyone who has an Amazon account, regardless whether or not they are subscribed to Prime.
The company has sold out its advertising inventory and realized a 40% increase in new advertisers for the matchup, according to a recent report from Mollie Cahillane of Sports Business Journal. Moreover, Amazon’s coverage of Thursday Night Football has brought in more than 50 new brands, with growth attributed to areas such as automotive, consumer-packaged goods and entertainment among others. Thirty-second advertisements sold for figures between $650,000 and $750,000, although variation was possible depending on larger deals with Amazon.
For last year’s Black Friday Football broadcast between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, Amazon’s Prime Video averaged 9.61 million viewers and 4.0 rating. The AFC East divisional game was the second-least watched NFL game on the platform during the 2023 season at the time it aired. Although the Black Friday game does not encompass the traditional Thursday Night Football package, the broadcast property has garnered an average minute audience of 14.78 million viewers across its 11 game presentations amid the season, according to Big Data + Panel weekly viewership metrics from Nielsen Media Research.
In addition to the NFL, Amazon will expand its sports coverage next year when the National Basketball Association officially becomes part of its live broadcast rights portfolio. The company agreed to an 11-year deal reportedly worth $1.8 billion annually that includes 66 NBA regular-season games, knockout round games within the Emirates NBA Cup and at least one Black Friday matchup of its own. Amazon will also continue broadcasting WNBA games, presenting exclusive streams of 30 regular-season matchups, the Championship Game of the Commissioner’s Cup and three WNBA Finals series.
