Prime Video could be getting more Super, if tech giant Amazon can deliver the Big Game. At the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit, Jay Marine, Amazon’s VP and global head of sports, said he’s “optimistic” that the Super Bowl on Prime Video could become a reality, adding that it’s an ambition the streamer would like to achieve “in the fullness of time.”
Marine’s comments at Tuesday’s summit come as the NFL heads into Week 3, and after Amazon’s Thursday Night Football 2025 regular-season debut. Last Thursday’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders averaged its best regular-season figure since 2022, with 17.76 million viewers, its highest on Amazon, per Nielsen Big Data + Panel.
NFL Increases Streaming Exclusivity
With studies finding 40% of sports fans going digital-only, a streaming-exclusive Super Bowl on Prime Video, or another platform seems even more likely with time. In recent years, the NFL has aggressively tackled the digital space with streaming exclusive games in the preseason, regular season, and playoffs.
Earlier this month, the NFL streamed its first game for free exclusively on YouTube. As part of the league’s International Series, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil, with more than 17.3 million viewers around the globe tuning in.
For 2025, the NFL has even more games that will be exclusive to streaming. Later this year, cord cutters will need a streaming subscription to watch all three NFL games on Christmas Day (two on Netflix, one on Prime Video).
The Super Bowl in the Age of Streaming
Beyond that December tripleheader, Peacock, Prime Video, and ESPN exclusively air games on the gridiron during the road to Super Bowl LX. However, compared to the regular season and playoffs, the Super Bowl brings another level of attention to a streaming platform.
The Legacy Partners
When the NFL signed its 11-year media rights deal, its partners rotate the rights to the Big Game each year. FOX, NBC, CBS and ESPN/ABC each get to air the Super Bowl, with simulcast on their respective streaming services.
Back in February, for the first time, the FOX-owned, free-ad-supported streaming service Tubi aired Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl LIX, which also aired on the FOX broadcast network, logged over 110 billion viewing minutes, increasing Tubi’s audience year-over-year 16-fold. A year prior, during Super Bowl LVII between the Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, Paramount+, which simulstreamed the CBS broadcast, saw users watch 2.64 billion minutes. Super Sunday 2024 was Paramount+’s biggest day ever and the biggest live event on the service since its launch at the time.
The NFL’s championship game returns to Peacock in 2026 with the NBC Sports broadcast of Super Bowl LX. ESPN, which recently expanded its relationship with the league, is getting its first two Super Bowls (2027, 2031). Those games will surely stream on its recently launched direct-to-consumer app, and could air for free on ABC.
Entering A New Prime
As of now, this leaves Prime Video as the only media partner of that 11-year deal without a Super Sunday game. Although the media landscape could drastically change over the coming years, Marine’s optimism isn’t unwarranted. Though Prime Video doesn’t have traditional free broadcast TV, Amazon could also offer the game free on Prime Video, Twitch, or a legacy partner.
Putting the Super Bowl behind a paywall isn’t ideal, as fans continue to grow frustrated with subscriptions and the fragmentation of sports. Compared to most streamers, Amazon has a larger base, with more than 240 million subscribers worldwide. Additionally, the platform has been a gateway for other niche streaming services.
To add fuel to the fire, Prime Video is becoming a must-have option for sports fans with its growing lineup. A Super Bowl on Prime Video would join a lineup that features the NBA later this year, NASCAR, WNBA, The Masters, Professional Pickleball, Premier Boxing Champions, and more.
If Marine gets his wish and Prime Video crosses the goal line with the Super Bowl, will legendary broadcaster and TNF play-by-play guy Al Michaels be in the booth? While speaking to FOS, Marine said they are “taking it year-by-year,” with Michaels, who turns 81 in November and has called 11 Super Bowls.
The NFL on Prime Video continues with a Week 3 AFC East matchup at 8:15 PM ET on Thursday, September 18. Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills host Tua Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins in a battle between division foes. New subscribers can watch Thursday Night Football and try Prime Video for 30 days free at the link below.
Credit: Front Office Sports