Prime Is A Fountain of Youth For NFL

Nielsen data for the first four “Thursday Night Football” contests on the tech giant’s Prime Video streaming platform shows they’re drawing a larger percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds than NFL games shown on traditional TV, according to The L-A Times.

Prime Video is carrying “Thursday Night Football,” the first time an NFL package of games has been exclusively available on a streaming platform. While younger viewers have flocked to streaming for video entertainment, most NFL games are on traditional TV, where they still draw massive audiences that tower over those for other programming.

But the trend away from pay TV subscriptions — which pay for much of the $9 billion a year networks will shell out to the NFL in new media rights deals — is continuing.

According to a new report from MoffettNathanson, pay TV households declined 6.1% in the third quarter of 2022. The report also said 42% of homes that stream video don’t have a pay TV subscription.

As the traditional TV audience continues to get older and smaller, sports leagues are expected to continue more contests on streaming platforms to replenish their fan bases. The early numbers for “Thursday Night Football” demonstrate why.

Through four weeks, “Thursday Night Football” is averaging 11.26 million viewers overall, up 11% compared to the comparable period last year when the games aired across Fox, the NFL Network and Prime Video.

The increases are much higher in the younger demographic groups coveted by advertisers who buy commercial time on “Thursday Night Football.” In the 18-to-34 age group, the games are averaging 2.6 million viewers, up 67% compared to last year.\

Viewers aged 18 to 34 account for 24% of the “Thursday Night Football” audience, compared to 14% of the NFL’s TV audience.

The median age of the “Thursday Night Football” streaming viewer is 46, eight years younger than the average age of NFL fans watching games on television.

“It’s not surprising, but at the same time we’re ecstatic,” Jay Marine, global head of sports for Prime Video, said about the early ratings. “This was a big reason the NFL chose us as a partner. If you’re a sports league, younger viewers are your future.”