Opening night in the new Highmark Stadium set a new high mark for a Thursday Night Football opener on Prime.
18.60 million viewers tuned in for the Buffalo Bills’ win over the Detroit Lions that christened the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, marking a five percent increase over last year’s TNF opener between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers (17.76 million viewers). Viewership peaked at 21.43 million viewers during the 9:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour.
The audience is good for Prime Video’s third-largest regular-season NFL audience since it became the exclusive rightsholder for the mid-week package in 2022. Just two late-season games last season beat Thursday’s mark: Broncos-Chiefs on Christmas Day (21.06 million viewers) and Cowboys-Lions in early December (19.39 million viewers).
As has been the case throughout Prime Video’s time as an NFL broadcast partner, the streamer continues to attract a younger audience than its linear television counterparts. The median age for Prime Video’s TNF audience last Thursday was 47.7, more than six years younger than the median NFL audience on linear television (54). At the same time, the streamer increased its 55+ audience by 11 percent versus last year’s opener, indicating that they are potentially gaining ground as a greater number of older Americans take up streaming.
Thursday’s audience also represents just how far Prime Video has come in terms of audience growth since its debut in 2022. The streamer’s first exclusive TNF broadcast, a Chargers-Chiefs game in Week 2, averaged just 13.03 million viewers. Four years later, and Prime Video has increased the audience for its opening game by 43 percent and has largely replicated, if not exceeded, the audiences the package was getting on linear television.
Thursday Night Football continues this week for a game that likely won’t reach the same heights as its opener, with the Atlanta Falcons, a team in quarterback hell, taking on the Green Bay Packers, a team that hasn’t exactly impressed through two weeks.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.