Breaking: Dolphins, Jets to Meet in NFL’s First-Ever Black Friday Game to Stream on Prime Video
For well over a year, there have been rumors about the NFL expanding its hold over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend with the introduction of a Black Friday game, and after earlier this spring when the game was confirmed to be happening this season, we now know which two squads will be helping Amazon sell Christmas presents and rolls of toilet paper.
On Wednesday, ahead of the full-season announcement on Thursday, May 11, Prime Video announced that the Miami Dolphins will visit their AFC East rivals to take on the New York Jets on Friday, Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will feature new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and will be sandwiched by live, on-site pre and postgame coverage from MetLife Stadium. Additionally, the game will be available to football fans whether they are Prime members or not — a savvy move by Amazon to get as many people on their platform as possible.
“We’re excited to be the home of the first-ever NFL Black Friday game, and what better way to kick off this new tradition than with a rivalry matchup between the Dolphins and the Jets,” Amazon’s VP of global sports video Marie Donoghue said. “On one of the biggest shopping days of the year, we’re thrilled to offer another way to delight Amazon customers, and give all fans free access to this AFC East showdown.”
Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” broadcast team will lead the coverage, which means Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit will call the game from the booth with Kaylee Hartung on the sideline reporting. The pre and postgame coverage, as well as halftime, will be led by Charissa Thompson who will be joined by former NFL players Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Andrew Whitworth. Taylor Rooks and Michael Smith will also be along to provide news and insights.
For the 2022 season, Prime Video became the first streaming platform to be the exclusive home of an NFL game. While there were undeniable ups and downs throughout the first year of Amazon’s solo “Thursday Night Football” era, with the continued expansion of its football offerings, it seems pretty clear that the online retailer sees a tremendous upside to the broadcasts, even if they are a bit of a loss-leader for more mundane business.
By giving audiences a reason to visit Amazon — in one form or another — on the busiest shopping day of the year, the retail goliath is hoping to funnel even more customers to its core business. “TNF” broadcasts already feature advertisements for other Amazon shows, products, and services, including the opportunity to directly click on an ad to put an item in your cart. Undoubtedly, the tech company will ramp up these efforts for its Black Friday audience.
Whether you are just rolling over from your tryptophan-induced coma, or you are coming back from 12 hours of in-person shopping, having another NFL game to watch on the day after Thanksgiving will likely be a huge boon for football fans across the country, and for Amazon as well.
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.