Amazon is making the first NFL Black Friday game free for everyone to stream. Last year, the e-comm giant announced exclusive rights to the first-ever Black Friday NFL game. Today, Amazon confirmed that the game will not require a Prime membership, meaning anyone with an internet connection will be able to watch the game on Prime Video.
Amazon isn't doing this out of the kindness of its heart. Black Friday is one of the e-tailer's busiest days of the year and this NFL freebie is bound to generate more attention (and perhaps sell more Amazon Prime memberships) than even the biggest Black Friday deals.
The game is expected to kick off at 3 p.m. ET, and the teams are TBA. Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, and Kaylee Hartung will cover the on-field action, according to Amazon. The team heading up the pre-game show will feature host Charissa Thompson, as well as Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Richard Sherman, Andrew Whitworth, Taylor Rooks and Michael Smith
Amazon sees success with Thursday Night Football
In 2022, Prime Video became the exclusive carrier of Thursday Night Football. According to Nielsen stats, the 15-game package on Prime Video averaged a total of 9.58 million viewers. Amazon's own stats also show that Prime Video's Thursday Night Football games attracted audiences that were eight years younger than NFL audiences on traditional channels. According to Amazon, it also regularly topped all competing programming on broadcast and cable TV.
Amazon and the NFL have yet to announce the competing teams for the big Black Friday game. However, they've confirmed that the game will be played on Friday, November 24 at 3 p.m. ET. Pregame coverage for the Black Friday game will kick off live and onsite within the host stadium.