NFL Confirms Prime Video Exclusive Black Friday Game Beginning in 2023
Given the success that Amazon has seen in the first month of its streaming-exclusive “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts, both in terms of audience response and record ratings — the first five broadcasts are up 48% year over year according to Nielsen — it felt almost inevitable that Prime Video’s relationship with the NFL would only grow from there.
Rumors have been circulating about the potential for the online retail giant to add an NFL game on Black Friday since early this year. Then in August, a report from the Sports Business Journal indicated that it was on the precipice of becoming official, and on Tuesday, the NFL confirmed that beginning on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, Prime Video will be the home of an exclusive Black Friday game kicking off at 3 p.m. ET.
“Thanksgiving is synonymous with football and we’re excited to give our fans another day of NFL action during this holiday weekend,” NFL Media’s COO Hans Schroeder said. “Amazon is uniquely positioned to partner with us for this game as Black Friday is one of the most important days of the year for their business.”
While adding an extra NFL game to any broadcaster’s lineup is always going to be a good thing, the fact that Amazon is going to have another way to drive potential customers to its site on the busiest shopping day of the year has to be seen as a boon of monumental proportions.
The game will feature Prime Video’s “TNF” crew — who will not do a Thanksgiving night game as NBC owns the rights to the holiday nightcap — led by Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, and Kaylee Hartung. The game continues to cement the NFL’s hold over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and gives Amazon yet another way to encourage consumers to avoid the hustle and bustle of in-person holiday shopping and to surf on over to the eCommerce giant instead.
“Thursday Night Football has already proven tremendously successful on Prime Video, delivering millions of viewers every week, and we’re excited to expand our relationship with the NFL with the inaugural Black Friday game, starting next year,” Prime Video’s Global Head of Sports Jay Marine said. “Black Friday is the unofficial start of the holiday season, and we’re thrilled to kick it off with a gift for football fans across the country with this new game.”
Despite the success of “TNF” and the addition of a Black Friday game, Prime Video might not be done when it comes to adding NFL content. Recent reports indicate that what once was considered a done deal for the NFL Sunday Ticket to land on Apple beginning next year, might not be as foregone of a conclusion as some thought. According to a report from CNBC’s Alex Sherman, Apple and the league have hit some roadblocks pertaining to the details of the package. While this could just be a negotiating tactic, leaked to put pressure on Apple, this could potentially allow Amazon — or even Google or Disney — to reenter negotiations to acquire the out-of-market package rights starting next fall.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Amazon Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.