Amazon is reportedly close to a deal to carry more exclusive NFL games
Written by laserteam on March 4, 2021
(Engadget) – Amazon and the National Football League are close to signing a deal that could see Prime Video carry far more games than it already does, according to The Wall Street Journal. If the deal goes through, Amazon will reportedly have exclusive rights to a “significant” number of Thursday night games. The agreement will make it so that those matches won’t be available on TV outside of the local markets of the two teams involved in the game.
Amazon could end up paying as much as $1 billion per year for those streaming rights when everything is said and done. At the moment, it’s believed the company’s contract with the NFL sees it pay between $75 million and $100 million to carry its current football slate. Should the deal go through, it won’t go into effect until after the 2022 season when Fox’s current agreement with the NFL expires.
Amazon first secured the rights to stream Thursday Night Football in 2017 when it paid a reported $50 million to snatch them away from Twitter. Last year, the company streamed its first “exclusive” game, a Saturday match between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers — though you could still watch it if you didn’t have Prime Video.
