Stream On! Amazon – NFL TV deal will feature the Bucs and Dolphins

The Bucs game with New England and the Dolphins showdown with the Ravens will part of the new streaming video deal between the NFL and Amazon.

Amazon Prime Video has released the schedule for the 11 NFL games (10 Thursday night matchups and one on Christmas Day) that it will be live streaming for its subscribers this season.

Amazon paid the NFL a reported $50 million dollars for the streaming rights. They outbid Twitter who paid $10 million for the exclusive streaming rights during the 2016-2017 season.

Amazon is charging advertisers a reported $2.8M for NFL ad packages that include 30-second spots

“We are offering a range of options at various price points, depending on advertiser objectives,” an Amazon representative told Reuters.

Things get started in week four of the NFL season when two of the leagues oldest rivals face off when Green Bay takes on the Chicago Bears.

Amazon Prime will begin their NFL schedule with the Week 4 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears and wraps up with a Christmas Day tilt pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Houston Texans. In between, Amazon won’t be streaming games during Week 9 or Week 12.

 

Week 4, Sept. 28: Bears at Packers, 8:25 p.m, CBS/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 5, Oct. 5: Patriots at Buccaneers, 8:25 p.m., CBS/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 6, Oct. 12: Eagles at Panthers, 8:25 p.m., CBS/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 7, Oct. 19: Chiefs at Raiders, 8:25 p.m., CBS/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 8, Oct. 26: Dolphins at Ravens, 8:25 p.m., CBS/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 10, Nov. 9: Seahawks at Cardinals, 8:25 p.m., NBC/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 11, Nov. 16: Titans at Steelers, 8:25 p.m., NBC/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 13, Nov. 30: Redskins at Cowboys, 8:25 p.m., NBC/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 14, Dec. 7: Saints at Falcons, 8:25 p.m., NBC/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 15, Dec. 14: Broncos at Colts, 8:25 p.m., NBC/NFL Network/Amazon

Week 16, (Monday) Dec. 25: Steelers at Texans, 4:30 p.m., NFL Network/Amazon

Both the NFL and Amazon feel this new deal is a good business move for both parties.

“We are continually looking for ways to deliver our games to fans wherever they watch, whether on television or on digital platforms and we are thrilled to bring Thursday Night Football to Amazon”, said Brian Rolapp, Chief Media and Business Officer for the NFL.  “As has been the case with all our streaming initiatives, we look forward to continuing to innovate with our partners as we learn the best ways to serve our fans both this season and into the future.”

“Our focus is on bringing customers the best premium video programming, when and how they want to watch it.  Streaming Thursday Night Football on Prime Video is a great step for us toward that vision, and offers tremendous new value for Prime members around the world,” said Jeff Blackburn, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Entertainment, Amazon. “And we’re thrilled to extend our ongoing content relationship with the NFL – the gold standard for sports entertainment – on behalf of our Prime customers.”

 

The folks at Amazon are looking worldwide for good sports packages that can draw more customers. Recently Amazon Germany and Australia have access to live Bundesliga football and other sports thanks to a new deal with Discovery’s Eurosport.

 

Jim Williams is the Washington Bureau Chief, Digital Director as well as the Director of Special Projects for Genesis Communications. He is starting his third year as part of the team. This is Williams 40th year in the media business, and in that time he has served in a number of capacities. He is a seven time Emmy Award winning television producer, director, writer and executive. He has developed four regional sports networks, directed over 2,000 live sporting events including basketball, football, baseball hockey, soccer and even polo to name a few sports. Major events include three Olympic Games, two World Cups, two World Series, six NBA Playoffs, four Stanley Cup Playoffs, four NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship Tournaments (March Madness), two Super Bowl and over a dozen college bowl games. On the entertainment side Williams was involved s and directed over 500 concerts for Showtime, Pay Per View and MTV Networks.