Amazon's First 'Thursday Night Football' Draws Record For Prime Subscriptions Proving The NFL Is King

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Amazon has only broadcasted one 'Thursday Night Football' game this season, but it's safe to say its deal with the NFL is already paying off, and then some.

During its first 'TNF' game of the season between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, Amazon fetched a record number of Prime subscriptions, according to Front Office Sports. There were more Amazon Prime sign-ups over a three-hour period of the game than any other day - including Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.

Amazon was hoping for 12.5 million viewers per game, but it likely exceeded that number during the Chargers-Chiefs game. Anyone outside of Los Angeles or Kansas City - who could watch the game via a local station - had to have a Prime subscription ($139 annually) in order to watch the contest.

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“While we’re still waiting for official Nielsen ratings, our measurement shows that the audience numbers exceeded all of our expectations for viewership,” Jay Marine, Amazon's vice president in charge of Prime Video stated.

(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The fact that Amazon set a record for Prime sign-ups in just a three-hour window proves one thing: the NFL is, in fact, king.

Not every 'TNF' game is going to feature two of the best young quarterbacks in the league as it did with Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes, but Amazon has to be pleased with its annual $1 billion deal it signed with the league through one game.

The Cleveland Browns welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers for this week's 'TNF' game on Amazon Prime. The Cincinnati Bengals host the Miami Dolphins the following Thursday in what should be a solid quarterback duel.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.