Report: Prime Video will continue to televise playoff game for balance of current rights deal
Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reports that Prime Video will continue to televise a Wild Card game for the balance of its current broadcast deal.
While reported a seven-year commitment, the NFL has an early out under all current media deals, at the conclusion of the 2029 season. It's currently believed that the league will exercise that right.
Amazon reportedly paid $150 million for the 2024 playoff game. The cost of the future postseason games isn't yet known.
The Steelers-Ravens Saturday night game last month attracted 22.1 million viewers, down from the 23 million for the Dolphins-Chiefs Wild Card game on Peacock a year earlier.
Prime Video's performance in the first three years of the Thursday night package proves that the shift to streaming has happened, and that others (like Netflix) will be at the table the next time the NFL sells its various TV packages. And with more suitors than selections of games to sell, the numbers will continue to go up and up and up — as they always have.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
There's not much positive to look back on from the 2024 Patriots season, except these two Drake Maye highlights
Occasional carelessness with the football aside, Maye was everything Patriots fans could have hoped for after three seasons of gradually realizing Mac Jones was not the next Chad Pennington, but a born backup whose leadership skills were as uninspiring as his wet-noodle arm. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Sure, Maye was a little bit reckless (again: expected) and often, a lot of fun. His arm strength (particularly his touch on deep throws) and mobility (he ran for 421 yards, and is already ninth all-time in rushing among Patriots quarterbacks) suggest he could develop into The Franchise Quarterback. It didn't hurt that Maye has a natural, easy-going charisma, which stood in contrast to Jones's personality, which was about as compelling as an Eggo waffle without syrup. Advertisement When you try to summon positive memories from last season – and I think we agree a full NFL Films recap of the '24 Patriots would run roughly as long as a between-innings commercial break on a NESN Red Sox broadcast — two Maye highlights come to immediately to mind, the kind that make you say, 'Oh, this kid has got it.' Advertisement The first came in the Patriots' Week 9 loss to the Titans, Maye's fourth start, and I suspect you're already replaying this one in your mind. You know the circumstances and the beats, but let's reiterate anyway. With no time left on the clock, the ball on the Tennessee 5, and the Patriots trailing, 17-10, Maye dropped back, patted the ball, scanned the field, scanned some more, bounced left, rolled right, scanned, scanned, scrambled left, eluded one Titan hell-bent on ending the game right then and there, and just as he got crunched by two others, threw the ball across his body to Rhamondre Stevenson for a touchdown, forcing overtime. DRAKE MAYE MAGICCCCCCCCC!!!!!!!!! 📺: FOX — New England Patriots (@Patriots) That cool was evident, too, on a perfectly timed yet almost casual shovel pass for a touchdown to DeMario Douglas during the Patriots' Week 15 loss to the Cardinals. Drake Maye makin' plays for the 📺: 📱: — NFL (@NFL) Of course, highlights are different from achievements. The Patriots won just one of Maye's starts. I'd argue his greatest achievement was looking competent and usually poised with very little help around him. Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper were reliable tight ends. Receivers Kayshon Boutte and Douglas had occasional promising moments. Antonio Gibson gave it his all. But other than that? Let's see. The offensive line was overrun like a busted dam, the best running back kept putting the ball on the ground, the head coach wasn't ready for the job, and the coaching staff was made up mostly of retreads and newbies who were underqualified for their responsibilities. Advertisement I'm not saying Maye came into the most hopeless situation in recent NFL history. That title belongs, perhaps permanently, to David Carr, who got broken by the expansion Texans after being the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft. Getting sacked 76 times in a season will change a man. I am saying the massive disadvantages Maye faced last season have probably been underestimated. And it's going to be fascinating to see how much a leap he can take now that he has a real support system. Related : The upgrade from Mayo to Mike Vrabel is the biggest Patriots head coaching upgrade since Bill Parcells replaced Dick McPherson. (And you know what? I'll hear you on the massive upgrade of going from Pete Carroll — a fine coach now who was way too happy-happy-joy-joy during his three gradually worse years here — to Bill Belichick.) Nearly as important, Vrabel has an experienced, deep, and well-rounded staff, including offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who is acclaimed here for his championship collaborations with Tom Brady, but also got the most anyone could have out of Cam Newton and his shot shoulder in 2020 and rookie Eggo Jones a year later. Maye's supporting cast on offense is still a work in progress, one requiring more help in the years ahead. But with Advertisement It's telling that Vrabel has been tough on Maye in preseason, Early returns suggest it's not the relentlessly sarcastic approach that eventually drove Drew Bledsoe to frustration with Parcells, but a sometimes sarcastic approach delivered constructively and often with humor. Vrabel, and McDaniels too, can coach Maye in a way Mayo and Alex Van Pelt could not. It's one more thing Maye needs to become the quarterback his talent, charisma, and highlights from a season worth forgetting, suggest he can be. Chad Finn can be reached at
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Brian Flores can't get an NFL head coaching job, which continues to be to the Vikings' benefit
The Vikings' players are disappointed that Flores, 44, hasn't gained more traction as a head coach candidate. But it also suits them just fine to have him back for a third season as defensive coordinator. 'We would all be happy for him, but it definitely would be a bittersweet moment, losing an important piece like that,' seventh-year linebacker Blake Cashman said after the Vikings held a Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Related : Advertisement Flores has the résumé of a coach who should get another opportunity. He won a Super Bowl in New England as defensive play-caller. His Miami tenure looks increasingly better with time — after an 0-7 start with several blowouts, Flores finished 24-18 and built a hard-nosed, tough culture. And now Flores is thriving in Minnesota, building the Vikings into an aggressive, top-five defense. Advertisement Yet Flores, who declined an interview request, knows why he's probably not on the top of most owners' lists for potential head coaches. Brian Flores (left) learned at the side of Bill Belichick before leaving New England to coach the Dolphins. Steven Senne/Associated Press Shortly after being fired by the Dolphins, The lawsuit is slowly grinding its way through the legal system, with a judge in 2023 ruling that Flores's suit against the Dolphins must proceed in arbitration, while the suit against the NFL and other teams can proceed. Related : The lawsuit has made After two years of silence, Related : Advertisement 'I don't think anybody in our game cares if it's fair or not,' said CBS analyst Jason McCourty, who played for Flores in New England and Miami. 'Face it, there was a point where Flores was suing the NFL, so there's all these mitigating factors. But I've got to imagine his body of work he's done the last two seasons, he's every much deserving of a head coaching job.' Flores's tribulations have been to the Vikings' benefit. After spending the 2022 season on the Steelers' staff, he joined the Vikings as defensive coordinator. A defense that ranked 28th in points allowed before he arrived has finished 13th and fifth in two seasons. Flores is the most aggressive defensive coordinator in the NFL, finishing first in blitz percentage two years in a row — 51.5 percent in 2023 and 38.9 percent in 2024. The Vikings led the NFL in takeaways (33), were the only defense last year not to allow more touchdowns than interceptions (they had 24 of each). And Flores's defense was the backbone of a team that went 14-3 last year with backup quarterback Sam Darnold, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. Related : In February, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell lamented that Flores didn't get another head coaching opportunity, but 'we feel like we've got some unfinished business together.' O'Connell, 34-17 in three seasons as a head coach, said Flores has been an invaluable leader and sounding board. 'He's a big-picture thinker that is incredibly detailed and prepared every single day, and I feel so fortunate to have that type of person to lean on in that role,' O'Connell said. 'Beyond the scheme and the X's and O's, and his ability to lead, teach, and motivate, to have that resource for me has been huge, and our dynamic, our relationship, continues to build.' Advertisement And patience may pay off for Flores. He's still young, and now has a more varied résumé, with 15 years learning under Belichick, plus one year with Mike Tomlin, and three with O'Connell. 'He's a big part of the reason why this organization continues to head in the right direction,' Cashman said. 'My favorite thing about Flo is how he challenges each individual player to continue to improve their football IQ. I almost see it as a requirement to play on this defense, to really have a high knowledge of this game. He just adds a lot of excitement and joy to this game for us, we love him, and we're happy he's here.' Ben Volin can be reached at
Boston Globe
30 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Wayne Rooney ‘disappointed' with Tom Brady over work ethic comments in documentary
Rooney has responded to the seven-time Super Bowl champion in his new role as a pundit for the BBC, saying Brady's comment was 'very unfair.' Advertisement 'Tom came in once, which was the day before a game, which is a little bit lighter anyway,' Rooney said in an interview with the BBC published on Thursday, 'and I don't think he really understood football that well at the time. Maybe he does now. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'But what he does understand is that he's a hard worker. We know that. So that's why I'm really disappointed with the comment, because football is not NFL. NFL works for three months in a year, players do need rest as well, so I think he was very unfair in the way he's come out and portrayed that.' Birmingham was relegated in that campaign but secured immediate promotion last season and is back in the Championship — one league away from the Premier League. Advertisement 'Listen, I respect Tom Brady massively — he's one of the greatest, if not the greatest athlete of all time,' Rooney said. 'And Birmingham do look like they are getting it right now, which is good.'
