Week 1 of the NFL season kicked off with its traditional Thursday night football game on NBC. But if you’re looking forward to watching Thursday Night Football tonight, just know that it won’t be on over-the-air network TV as was the case for last week’s Rams-Bills game.
Tonight begins the TNF streaming era. That’s because Amazon Prime Video won the bidding on a 10-year Thursday Night Football package to make the streaming service the exclusive home of TNF. The league touts it as its “first-ever-all-digital package” and it will be a costly package, at that. Forbes reports Amazon will pay the NFL $13 billion (!!!) for the right to broadcast 15 regular-season Thursday night contests. I am guffawing thinking about that number.
At this point you’re probably wondering what this means for you as a fan. Charles Curtis (USA Today’s ForTheWin!) breaks down Amazon Prime costs, alternatives, and other options. For instance, you can watch TNF at bars and restaurants (per CNBC) if that’s your thing. Amazon Prime and DirecTV struck a deal to ensure that much. In the end, I’d encourage you to read Curtis’ piece as we prepare for the first of many TNF regular-season games.
As for what it means for Bears fans, well, there are a few things of note. Firstly, the Bears are scheduled to play on an Amazon TNF game in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders. So mark Oct. 13 on your calendar and prepare yourself. Also? It is worth highlighting that Thursday Night Football games featuring the Bears — this season and in years to come — will be carried locally in Chicago on an over-the-air network to be announced later. We’ve seen ABC-7 and WGN-9 be the host network for Monday Night Football games that were simulcast on ESPN. In other words, locals won’t be scrambling to stream these games. But for out-of-market fans, it is a good idea to get familiar with your options now (rather than waiting until mid-October when the Bears play).