When it comes to integrating a streaming strategy into a larger business plan, perhaps no one is doing it better than Amazon right now, as the Sports Business Journal is reporting that the long-gestating rumors of Prime Video streaming an NFL game on Black Friday are likely to finally come to fruition in 2023.
Now that Prime Video is the exclusive home to the league’s “Thursday Night Football,” putting an extra game on the online retail giant’s streaming service — on the busiest shopping day of the year, no less — just seems to make sense. Amazon is already paying the NFL $1 billion per season for the “TNF” rights, and this additional game is estimated to come with a price tag between $70-$100 million.
College and pro football are already central to the holiday weekend, with the NFL owning Thanksgiving with three games on three different networks. College football has a handful of games on Friday, but then caps off the regular season — save for Army vs. Navy, which happens in December — on Saturday. With the addition of another NFL game on Friday, the league further extends its hold over the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season.
SBJ’s John Ourand cautions that the league might decide to hold off on introducing the Black Friday game until 2024, but that sources indicate that “all signs point to 2023 for the first one.”
Given the recent advertising advancements at Prime Video, with an NFL game that will undoubtedly be a huge draw for fans across the country, being able to incorporate advertising for Amazon’s retail site during the game could be a massive commercial boon for the tech company.