Streaming platform Amazon Prime’s coverage of the National Football League’s (NFL) ‘Thursday Night Football’ (TNF) clash between the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks averaged 15.26 million viewers, meaning the fixture became the most-streamed in NFL history.
At its peak, 17.76 million viewers tuned in last week (November 30) to see the Cowboys win 41-35, beating the previous highest-streamed TNF game in Week 2 (September 12), when 15.1 million viewers watched the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Minnesota Vikings.
The game also became the most-watched NFL clash on Amazon Prime since it took over exclusive broadcast rights to TNF ahead of the 2022 season. The streaming platform has broadcast TNF in some capacity since 2017 either through its primary service of gaming-focused free streaming site Twitch.
TNF games are averaging 12.8 million viewers this season, a 29% increase from the 9.7 million average audience at the same point last year.
Amazon’s new record comes after the streaming platform reported in October that its TNF broadcasts have achieved a double-digit year-on-year percentage viewership gain for the seventh week running.
In August 2022, Amazon Prime stated its belief that its exclusive broadcasts of TNF would draw fewer viewers than previously when it had been aired on linear TV by national network Fox.
The streaming service believed that its 2022 slate of TNF fixtures would average around 12.5 million viewers, whereas in reality, it averaged 10.29 million.
However, through the first seven TNF fixtures of the 2023 season, Amazon Prime averaged 12.66 million, a 23% increase year-on-year and a potential indicator of the streaming service’s growing base of sports fans.
It is worth noting that TNF games regularly topped the 15 million mark during the previous era when games were simulcast on Fox and the NFL Network streaming service. The last game under that deal between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 15 of the 2021 season averaged 18 million viewers.