The Fox Thursday night games have been simulcast on Amazon Prime for the past three years. In addition to over-the-air channels in the two locations where a given game is played, Thursday Night Football will only be available through Amazon Prime starting in 2022.
The NFL officially debuts on Amazon Prime tonight when the Texans play home to the 49ers in Week Three of the preseason, even though the regular season doesn't start until three weeks from now when the Chiefs face the Chargers.
After the Packers-Chiefs game on NFL Network begins at 8:00 p.m. ET, the action begins from Houston at 8:15 p.m. ET.
The numbers for the Amazon contest will probably be low — far lower than they will be for a regular-season game — since there will be another game available on traditional TV. Even then, it's unclear how many people will watch online. It's still unclear if the typical football fan is aware of the coming transition to streaming.
Amazon informed prospective sponsors that it expected 12.5 million viewers for each game. Insiders in the sector believe that the actual figure will be significantly lower. Nielsen will also keep tabs on the actual figures. The NFL and Amazon presumably realize that changing habits will take time.
That is certainly the reason the NFL did it. The money is good, yes. When is it not? But the league is making an effort to advance technologically. Even if traditional TV doesn't disappear, it will likely change. That has already occurred. The NFL is aware of this. The issue then identifies the limit for continuous viewing via streaming service over time.
NFL games attracted huge viewership back when there were only three TV channels. Games like Bears-Dolphins in 1985 (39 million viewers) and Giants-49er in 1990 (41 million) had significant viewership before the introduction of the Internet. The three-letter networks that broadcast games during prime time are now content with an average viewership of 20 million.
What would define a win in a streaming-only game? Practically speaking, the experiment will start in three weeks. The NFL and Amazon will see the upcoming post-TV reality for the first time tonight.
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