Amazon Prime Video has a viewership of around 117 million people worldwide, but this figure is about to increase following a major new deal with US network DirecTV.

The agreement concerns the broadcasting of ‘Thursday Night Football’ NFL games to over 300,000 DirecTV establishments in several different countries and was in place for the start of the new preseason in August.

It means that Amazon Prime is now the home of TNF, being the first streaming service to hold exclusive rights to the package.

An international network

The NFL may be based in the US, but it enjoys global popularity among sports fans, particularly with the annual Super Bowl, which attracted an estimated 208 million viewers for the 2022 event.

The new deal reflects this demand for games, which is why Amazon and DirecTV will broadcast to almost a third of a million new venues. While the majority of these will be bars and restaurants, many will be in casinos, which is likely to attract criticism from safe gambling campaigners. Being in an immersive betting environment like a casino is likely to increase the chance of placing a sports bet on their mobile, which, in turn, exposes them to other gambling-related offers, like no deposit casino bonuses, which they probably wouldn’t see otherwise.

That said, it does give fans the chance to enjoy football on a social night out, whether it be having a drink with friends or combining it with a friendly game of poker, so it could be popular among NFL fans around the world.

Amazon is the first streaming service to hold the exclusive rights to a bundle of NFL games, and its DirecTV deal will allow its business customers (like hotels and casinos) to access the TNF content at no extra cost.

The first preseason game, between San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans on August 25th, was hugely anticipated by the international community and kicked off the prelude to an exciting new season of football.

Further Amazon expansion

Thursday Night Football is a big section of the NFL package, but there are others that could fall under Amazon’s domain.

DirecTV currently also holds the rights to NFL’s Sunday Ticket, a subscription package for out-of-market games, but this will end once this season finishes.

It means the NFL are searching for a new partner, and Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he wants a new one in place by the time winter arrives. While Apple and Disney are strong contenders, Amazon is also in the hat, and a successful opening for TNF could bolster their claim.

However, this may lead to protests within the NFL about the monopolization of TV rights, with large firms like Amazon controlling such a large chunk. Amazon has already attracted criticism in the past for wielding so much power in online retail, claims which it has repeatedly played down.

The $100 billion-plus TV deal

As big as the Amazon/DirecTV deal is, it’s just part of a huge 11-year media rights agreement between the NFL and a series of media companies who will broadcast the games internationally. These include NBCUniversal, ABC, ESPN, and CBS Sports, as well as DirecTV.

Agreed last year, it spans a huge selection of content that totals an eye-watering $105 billion, a figure which illustrates the incredible amount of money involved in the United States’ most popular sport.

Roger Goodell, upon confirming the agreement, spoke of how it would “bring an unprecedented era of stability to the League” and would “permit us to continue to grow and improve our game.”

The main players, other than Amazon, get the following rights:

• ABC got the big one: the Super Bowl between 2026 and 2030.
• ESPN, owned by Disney (like ABC), won Monday Night Football, plus a game ‘flex’ after Week 12, giving them the option of the more attractive matches.
• NBC retained Sunday Night Football, plus won a select number of games for Peacock, its streaming platform.
• FOX and CBS retained their Sunday afternoon packages for the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC).

NFL onlookers hailed the importance of the deal, saying it secured the future of the sport for the next decade.

It also serves as a sign of what US football’s future looks like, with Amazon playing a bigger role than ever before.