As streaming giants grow larger, they are vying for more access to live sports broadcasts. As one of the largest, Amazon Prime Video already offers live broadcasts to several professional sports organizations, including the NFL. At this time, there are still few premium video-on-demand (VOD) services that provide live coverage. Not even the NFL’s own service NFL Game Pass delivers live broadcasts. So, it’s sort of a big deal that a non-cable-alternative like Amazon Prime Video earned the rights for live NFL games.
Amazon Prime Video offers thousands of episodes and movies within its catalog. Outside of its own collection, Amazon Prime allows you to rent and purchase titles that are otherwise difficult to track down. Check out Amazon Prime Video along with its features and movie catalog with our review. If you’re 3rd and inches, so to speak, but need to know more about packages and pricing before you decide, we cover that too in our breakdown.
With live sports now available on Amazon Prime Video, NFL games can be streamed live just like traditional TV. Find out how to stream your Amazon Prime Video NFL package below.
Can I Stream Every NFL Game on Amazon Prime Video?
Just like any other professional sport, the NFL is tied into numerous, complicated contracts with local and national networks. We won’t bore you with the details, but the short answer is that, no, Amazon Prime Video doesn’t stream every NFL game. At this point in time, if you want to catch every NFL game live, you’ll need either a traditional or cable-alternative service, such as fuboTV or Sling TV. You can also watch most out-of-market games using the Sunday Ticket app from DirectTV. That said, Amazon Prime Video simulcasts 11 Thursday Night Football games each season that are also split between CBS and NBC.
There are a number of features to help personalize your football-viewing experience. One way you can alter Thursday Night Football is by choosing your preferred commentators. You’ll have the option of Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Amazon’s Andrea Kremer and Hannah Storm, NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah, and Fox Deportes’ Adrián García Márquez and Rolando Cantú.
There’s also Amazon Prime Video’s X-Ray feature. This is a feature that’s particularly useful to fantasy football and superfans who want to be kept up-to-date on key insights and all the league stats. The X-Ray feature not only lets you watch replays, but it lists stats such as completion probability, running speeds, and time the QB has in the pocket. There are also helpful features like important milestones, trivia, and simple box score statistics.
Amazon Prime will stream a playoff game live during the 2020-2021 post-season in January. In fact, it’s one of the most exciting — the Wild Card game. This is also a simulcast situation, where Amazon Prime Video will share the viewing rights with CBS, Nickelodeon, and ViacomCBS.
What Other NFL Content Does Amazon Prime Video Offer?
Just because you can’t tune into Sunday’s game lineup using Amazon Prime Video doesn’t mean you can’t get a football fix with your current subscription. Live games aside, Amazon offers some original game scheduling to help fans analyze games and more.
NFL content available to all Amazon Prime Video subscribers includes:
NFL Next: This weekly show features hosts Kay Adams, Andrew Hawkins, Daniel Jeremiah and Chris Long. The pigskin experts look ahead to the week in the NFL prior to the Thursday night kickoff.
All or Nothing: This unique documentary series began in 2016. The series follows one team over the course of an NFL season, offering you behind the scenes footage in the locker room and beyond. There are currently 5 seasons available.
NFL Icons: Brett Favre is covered in the first episode of this new documentary series. Each episode will cover an NFL icon. You can see the first episode as a Prime subscriber; get an EPIX free trial to binge the other episodes if you don’t want to pay.
NFL content available with Amazon Prime Video channel add-ons includes:
Inside the NFL: This content is available with a Paramount+ add-on. Each week’s episode is available from Tuesday evening until Sunday at 12pm ET. Episodes recap the previous week’s games and offer analysis and predictions.
It’s worth noting that as of the 2022 football season, Amazon will be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football. The games will no longer be shown on FOX. Viewers in the local markets of participating teams will still be able to watch the games on local channels. All other viewers will need to view the games on Amazon Prime Video. This new arrangement could lead to a bounty of new NFL content on the streaming service, so keep your eyes peeled for newly announced shows in the next few years.
Which Devices Can I Use to Stream the NFL on Amazon Prime Video?
You can watch live events on Amazon via numerous streaming devices. The general rule of thumb is as long as the device supports the Amazon Prime Video app, you can stream live sports. These include all popular devices like game consoles, smartphones, tablets, and web browsers. Take a look at the full list below.
- Amazon Fire TV
- Amazon Fire Tablet
- Android devices
- Apple TV
- Google Chrome
- iOS devices
- PlayStation
- Roku
- Web browsers
- Xbox One
If you see your device listed here but you’re unable to download the Amazon Prime Video app or successfully stream content, you may have an outdated operating system. Older devices are often retired and unable to download the latest software updates. If this is the case, you’ll need to get a newer device in order to watch the NFL on Amazon Prime.
More on NFL streaming with Amazon
Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of Prime Video sports.
When Does NFL Coverage Start on Amazon Prime?
You can watch Thursday night games with a live kick off time of 8:20pm ET/5:20pm PT. Before the first quarter, the network puts on the official NFL Network pregame show at 7:30pm ET. This is available in addition to Prime Video’s pregame show, NFL Next, which airs on Tuesdays at 8:00pm ET. You can also watch a 10-minute post-game recap after every available Thursday night game.
What are the Announcer Options for Thursday Night Football?
Each Thursday game on Amazon Prime Video has three commentator options. You can choose between Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer (Storm-Kremer); Bucky Brooks, Daniel Jeremiah and Joy Taylor (Scout’s Feed); and Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (US English) commentary. Even better, you can switch between announcers throughout the game.
To choose your commentary, go to the “Audio and Commentary” option on your smart TV or other device. If you have a Fire TV, you can hit the “Menu” button on your remote. A drop-down menu will appear and you can scroll through the available announcers for that game and select the one you want.
Are There Any Playoff Games Available on Amazon Prime Video?
Yes. The Thursday Night Football arrangement between Amazon and the NFL includes a playoff wild card game. In 2022, that game will be held on January 10th.
Where Can I Find Live NFL Games on Amazon Fire TV?
Live NFL games, like Thursday Night Football, will appear on the Home screen of Fire TV’s operating system in the Sports section. If, for any reason, the game isn’t populating, navigate to the Live tab in the main menu.
Where Do I Find Live NFL Games on the Amazon Prime Video App?
Are you using an Amazon Fire Stick, connecting with Amazon Prime via your cable provider (like Cox’s Contour service), or using Chromecast? Finding NFL content is still easy. Scroll down to the Sports section of your Amazon Prime Video app. You’ll see the available games for the whole week, with the most imminent games to the left in the lineup.
Why Am I Having Buffering Issues with Amazon Prime Video’s NFL Live Stream?
First, make sure that you’re using one of the devices that support the NFL on Amazon Prime Video. The device you’re using needs to have capable download speeds. Buffering issues also hinge on whether you’re watching standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD) content. Amazon recommends a minimum of 1 Mbps for SD and 5 Mbps for HD live streams.
The Final Cut
With the NFL increasing its presence on Amazon Prime Video, it’s not only great for Prime members but anyone with a streaming device. Now, if you have traditional TV with access to all the major networks, this might be huge news. But if you’re someone who cut the cord and currently use various streaming services in place of the cable experience, you’ll find this as a huge win.
The writing on the wall points to streaming devices as the future of live professional broadcasting. At this point in time, Amazon has simulcast rights alongside traditional networks like CBS and NBC. Amazon Prime members can watch Thursday Night Football and will even have a direct line to the NFL Wild Card game this 2020-2021 season. Are you thinking about cutting the cord? What if you could obtain access to local networks like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC for a one-time cost? With a digital antenna like HDHomeRun, you’ll gain access to live HD programming of local channels and regional sports networks (RSNs), while having the ability to record live programming for future viewing.