| | | Amazon to Get Exclusive NFL Rights a Year Earlier Than Expected
Tech giant’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ deal will start in 2022-23, as Fox exits its pact early
Amazon in March signed a 10-year deal with the NFL to stream 15 games per season.PHOTO: JENNIFER STEWART/ASSOCIATED PRESS
By
Joe Flint
May 3, 2021 1:00 pm ET
Amazon . com Inc. will take over exclusive video rights for “Thursday Night Football” starting in the 2022-23 season, a year earlier than anticipated, the company and the National Football League said Monday.
Initially, Amazon’s deal with the NFL called for the tech giant to begin streaming games in the 2023-24 season. Current rights holder Fox Corp. agreed to exit its existing deal for the package a season early.
Terms, including the cost of acquiring the additional year of rights, weren’t disclosed. In March, Amazon signed a 10-year deal with the NFL to stream 15 games per season on its Prime Video platform. The average annual rights fee is around $1.2 billion and that is the price tag for the additional season, people familiar with the matter said.
“This expedited deal is an immediate differentiator for us as a service, as it gives Prime members exclusive access to the most popular sport in the United States,” said Marie Donoghue, Amazon’s vice president of global sports video.
In a memo sent to team owners reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the NFL said, “The decision to accelerate the launch of TNF on Amazon for the 2022 season creates incremental economic and strategic value for the League and our fans.”
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