“Thursday Night Football” comes to Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime has secured the rights to “Thursday Night Football” this year, beating out Twitter who streamed the games last year. According to the New York Times, the internet retail giant is spending $50 million for the programming, and Prime customers will have access to ten NFL games throughout the season.
Last year, Twitter paid $10 million for the rights to “Thursday Night Football,” but the social network wasn’t in a strong financial position to compete with Amazon this year.
As more and more young users are “cutting the cord” of traditional television, content providers are forced to rely on streaming services and social networks to reach these nontraditional audiences. Companies like Twitter, Netflix, Hulu and Facebook Live are continuing to develop original programming and make deals with legacy media to deliver relevant and convenient content.
Depending on the night, Amazon will be disseminating either CBS or NBC coverage of each game, and it will join the ranks of the NFL Network, the league’s cable channel, for digital viewing options.
According to the NFL, average viewership on Twitter last year was 266,000 – minuscule compared to television ratings which was over 15.8 million. With Amazon Prime boasting over 60 million users, those digital streaming numbers are sure to increase.
