The NFL will give Amazon Prime a playoff game in 2025, making the second straight year the league sends a playoff game to a streaming-only service, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Peacock became the first streaming service to get a playoff game in 2024, broadcasting the wild-card round matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs. NBC reportedly paid $110 million for the game, and was interested in continuing the contract beyond 2024.
That deal was only for one year, however, and Amazon had the right to opt into a playoff game as part of their “Thursday Night Football” package. Amazon has been the home of “Thursday Night Football” since 2022, with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit as the announcers.
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While the NFL and Peacock claim the Dolphins-Chiefs game drew a huge audience, fans were upset that a playoff game was only available on one specific streaming service. By having the game on Amazon, the NFL ensures that fans who have Prime for “Thursday Night Football” will be able to watch instead of needing them to sign up for a new service.
With the expanded playoffs, there are now six games during the wild-card round, and either NBC or Peacock broadcasted three of them in January. This deal likely means NBC will only get two games during the round next year, with CBS, Fox, ESPN and Amazon all getting one game apiece.