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Thursday Night Football has officially exited the domain of over-the-air TV. Fans will now require high-speed internet and a subscription to Amazon Prime to catch Thursday Night Football live.
This turn of events comes after the NFL's announcement that Amazon Prime Video will officially be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football, starting with the upcoming 2022/23 season.
In a statement, the league said:
"Amazon will distribute Primetime's 2nd most-watched show across hundreds of compatible digital devices. The NFL's original agreement with Amazon, announced as part of a larger series of media distribution deals this past March, had Amazon Prime Video distributing Thursday Night Football starting with the 2023 season."
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While the deal with Amazon Prime Video was slated to begin in 2023, the league and Prime Video decided to kickstart the agreement in the upcoming season instead.
This marks the first time the league has put some games exclusively in the hands of a streaming platform. While Amazon has aired NFL games before, they were always in addition to networks like Fox or NFL Network airing the games.
NFL fans were, on the whole, unhappy with the decision. They were quick to react on social media and shared their thoughts. Here are the top comments:
Caution: Some tweets may contain offensive language
A general theme among NFL fans on Twitter was that they weren't aware of the exclusivity of Prime Video's TNF coverage.
Some fans, however, voiced concerns about the state of play, given they would need a subscription to catch games on Thursday Night Football.
Another section of fans was, however, bemused that TNF is now slated to be locked behind the walls of a subscription service.
Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime—what this all means for NFL fans
One caveat with the new deal is that games in local markets will continue with the status quo. Fans in local areas, therefore, will not need a subscription to Amazon Prime Video to catch their hometown teams in action.
According to the Sports Business Journal, Prime Video is also considering allowing DirecTV to deliver Thursday Night Football to commercial establishments, including bars and restaurants. The $100 billion deal aside, Prime Video is doing its utmost to sign up on-air talent in the wake of bagging the rights to Thursday Night Football.
Amazon has already hired Taylor Rooks as a feature reporter. Rooks, of Turner Sports and Bleacher Report fame, was nominated for an Emmy award this year in the "Outstanding Personality Emerging On-Air Talent" category.
Amazon has also inked a deal with the "Dude Perfect" team of famed sports content creators Tyler Toney, twins Cory and Coby Cotton, Garrett Hilbert, and Cody Jones.
Earlier this week, Prime Video also signed Michael Smith to its team. Smith will be part of the pregame, halftime, and postgame shows along with Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Richard Sherman.
