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Writer's pictureJake Zimmer

Am I crazy for actually liking the Amazon NFL broadcast?

Talk all the smack you want about NFL on Prime Video - I'm weirdly all in on it.

This picture is something I never thought I'd see in a billion years.


"You mean Al Michaels isn't on NBC anymore? Where is Cris Collinsworth? Why is Amazon producing NFL broadcasts?" These are all questions that I'm sure all of us would've had if we saw this in 2019.


Last year, the NFL media rights deal renewed until 2033, and it was certainly a mega-deal. All the usual suspects were well-represented; Viacom (CBS), Fox, and Comcast (the owner of NBCUniversal) are all going to dish out $2 billion a year for 11 years. ESPN/ABC, owned by Disney, will dish out closer to $3 billion/year. Each will have their own wheelhouses, as they always have - CBS and Fox will carry the regular Sunday 1:00 and 4:00 games, NBC carries Sunday Night Football, and ESPN and ABC take the reins of Monday Night Football.


But the question they were still left with was Thursday Night Football. Who'd have the luck - or burden - of scooping it up? After all, it wasn't the most coveted TV slot in the world; the matchups have been historically middle-of-the road, at best.

Enter Amazon, who completed the NFL's 11-year deal, and will carry the full TNF package exclusively on Prime Video. This will be the first deal that a streaming service has cut with a major sports league to broadcast a whole season exclusively. Amazon allegedly will pay $11 billion total to the NFL - that's $1 billion per year for the 18 weeks of TNF.


Let's start with the crew. Star-studded is certainly accurate.


Al Michaels had been with ABC for three decades, then transitioned to NBC to call Sunday Night Football. He's been broadcasting on national TV since 1971. His color commentator of 13 years, Cris Collinsworth, was left behind at NBC in this deal, where he'll work with play-by-play man Mike Tirico.

Collinsworth's replacement as Al Michaels' partner in crime is Kirk Herbstreit, whose experience mostly came at the college level before getting involved in ESPN's supplemental NFL coverage. Herbstreit has clearly proven to be a grinder...he's paid his dues and has been really knowledgeable in these first few broadcasts.


Let's talk about his half-time crew! Charissa Thompson, the host, built her career on sideline reporting in college football and hoops. She mades stops at ESPN and Fox, and was a big reason why FS1 was successful in its early days in 2013. She's doing the anchoring for this group...

Where do you start? Tony Gonzalez was one of the best tight ends of all time, and has been an engaging TV personality. Ryan Fitzpatrick was destined for this even before he hung up the cleats on his 17-year career - give me ALL the Fitzmagic analysis. Richard Sherman decided to trade in the helmet for a microphone, too - his Achilles injury in January was enough for him to seek greener pastures. Andrew Whitworth, potential Hall of Fame offensive lineman after 16 years with the Rams and Bengals, has already brought so much to this crew, too.


Not to mention, this is instantly a contender for best intro music in the league. Maybe that's for another blog.

The initial reviews for TNF on Amazon Prime were solid, as they set the bar high with 13 million viewers in Week One.

Yes, I understand the major inconvenience of not being able to watch this on cable TV, especially when your favorite team is playing. I hope there eventually will be a way around that. But here's my plea to at least try out this broadcast. It's solid.


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