Amazon seeks exclusive $1bn NFL streaming deal

Amazon, the retail and media giant, is reportedly in talks with the National Football League (NFL) about securing an entire season of exclusive games that would be streamed on the Amazon Prime video platform.

First reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited ‘people familiar with the matter’, Amazon could pay up to $1 billion to win the right to broadcast a significant number of Thursday night games – and those games may not become available on traditional television outside of the local markets of the two participating teams.

The details

• If a deal is reached, which could happen as early as this week, it would mark the NFL’s most significant foray into streaming to date, according to the Journal’s sources.
• Any such deal would not commence until after the 2022 season, when Fox’s current rights to Thursday night football expires, and it might also have to include the NFL Network.
• Amazon could pay up to $1 billion to secure Thursday night games, as long as there is no other video component beyond the local TV markets of the two participating teams. The package would be worth significantly more than the $660 million a season that Fox currently pays.
• However, the NFL may conclude that maintaining NFL Network’s value is a higher strategic priority than handing over the rights to Thursday night games to Amazon.
• According to CNBC, the league is still considering proposals to simulcast Amazon’s Thursday games on the NFL Network or to split Thursday’s games between Amazon and the NFL Network.
• That’s because the NFL is trying to strike a balance between embracing new platforms and the revenue they generate, while keeping most of its games on traditional television.

Key quote

“This is a pretty watershed event for the TV industry. The fact that now you can get Thursday night games without having any local television – no antenna will work if you’re outside of the home markets” – Rich Greenfield, partner and media analyst at LightShed Partners.