Amazon has high aspirations as it waits for the final official Nielsen attendance figures for Thursday night's Chargers-Chiefs game. Even higher than Amazon had hoped for.
Before the start of the season, Amazon allegedly informed prospective sponsors that 12.5 million people would watch the streaming-only match (with traditional TV in the two teams' respective home stadiums). The official viewership total "should exceed" that amount, according to Amazon CEO Jay Marine, who told colleagues on Monday afternoon, according to John Ourand of Sports Business Daily.
According to Marine, "the audience figures exceeded all of our expectations for viewership, even if we're still awaiting official Nielsen ratings."
The NFL concurs
We stated on Saturday that the final figures should be available by Monday. The numbers won't arrive until Tuesday, according to Ourand. Also Wednesday. or Thursday.
There is a problem. And Amazon has a motivation to increase the figures. The NFL concurs. If the first game's attendance was high, more viewers might be enticed to watch the second, and so on. Reporting enormous numbers gives those who didn't watch the impression that they're missing out on something millions of others enjoy.
Even still, considering that the quarterback battle has changed from Justin Herbert vs. Patrick Mahomes to (checks notes and dry heaves) Mitch Trubisky vs. Jacoby Brissett, Amazon and the NFL will need all the support they can get to encourage fans to watch Thursday night's game.
Yes, I do choose to see everything with skepticism. More than 10 million people watching Thursday's game is highly improbable. If such were the case, complaints about Amazon's awkward fast-forward and rewind functions and the infrequent (or, for me, in the second half continued, buffering).
Everybody has to put up with Thursday nights' all-NFL streaming. But liking it is not needed. Additionally, compared to what other streaming services (like YouTube TV on Monday night with Tennessee-Buffalo and Minnesota-Philly playing out without a hitch) can do, the media is not compelled to uncritically acclaim the performance of the product.
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