Amazon's Chargers/Chiefs TNF Broadcast Averaged At Least 13 Million Viewers

The ratings are in for Amazon's first Thursday Night Football broadcast of the season.

The streaming giant paid a fortune for the exclusive rights to TNF, and fans got their first experience of what to expect from the company when the Chiefs beat the Chargers during week two.

Nielsen's data indicates the game garnered 13 million viewers, and Amazon's internal data kicked that number up to an average of 15.3 million viewers for the company's first NFL broadcast, according to NextTV.com.

Compared to the week two TNF game last year on the NFL Network, Amazon's initial 13 million viewership number from Nielsen is a 47% boost, according to the same report.

Amazon's numbers don't come close to the best games from week one.

However, the numbers don't come close to cracking the top games from week one. The Bucs beating the Cowboys averaged 24.5 million viewers, and at least four other games beat out the TNF broadcast on Amazon.

So, while the number is up in a huge way and probably bigger than expected for an Amazon broadcast, the number was still easily beat out by other games.

It's also curious why it took so long for the data to come out. Shouldn't the company been able to release data by last Friday morning at the latest?

After all, it's largely streaming data. It shouldn't be that difficult to figure out and track. Yet, it took nearly a week after the game concluded to get some numbers.

It seems like an okay start for Amazon, and once you factor in that TNF also brought in lots of new subscribers, it's hard not to see this as a win.

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David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.