A look back at the 2022 Thursday Night Football season: Audience insights and viewership statistics
December 22, 2022 | By Dora Wang, Marketing Manager
Football fans know the importance of reviewing statistics. Looking at the numbers can help them understand how their favorite team or player is performing and evaluate the success of a game or season.
As we approach the end of the 2022 NFL regular season, let’s take a look back at insights we’ve gathered through the previous 15 weeks of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. What do the numbers tell us about the Amazon TNF audience?
A top program across audiences
The inaugural season of the exclusive Prime Video broadcast of TNF started off with a bang—at an average audience of 13 million viewers, the September 15 matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs was the most-streamed NFL game ever.1
The early-season success of TNF has extended throughout the season. Year over year, TNF viewership among the 18-to-34 age group is averaging +12% higher than the 2021 TNF games on other networks.2 The December 15 face-off between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks was the 13th straight game where TNF was the number-one Thursday program among both the 18-to-34 year-old and 18-to-49 year-old demographic segments.3
How Amazon TNF viewership compares to NFL linear TV
When it comes to TNF viewership, many of those watching on Amazon are also tuning in to other NFL broadcasts. But we’ve learned that the TNF audience has its own unique identity.
According to Nielsen, the Amazon TNF audience is younger adult, has a higher household income, has a higher female audience composition, and engages with the broadcast for longer than NFL linear TV.4
Median age
Amazon TNF viewers
Linear NFL viewers
18-to-34 year-old viewers
23% of Amazon TNF viewers
14% of linear NFL viewers
18-to-49 year-old viewers
50% of Amazon TNF viewers
35% of linear NFL viewers
25-to-54 year-old viewers
53% of Amazon TNF viewers
40% of linear NFL viewers
Median household income
Amazon TNF viewers
Linear NFL viewers
Female viewers
18-to-49 year-old female viewers
14% of Amazon TNF viewers
12% of linear NFL viewers
25-to-54 year-old female viewers
15% of Amazon TNF viewers
14% of linear NFL viewers
The Amazon TNF audience also engages longer with the broadcast than those of Monday Night Football and Sunday Night Football. TNF viewers watch an average of 84 minutes per telecast, +36% and +13% longer than MNF and SNF respectively.5
TNF ads receive more audience engagement
Brands advertising in the US on TNF are also seeing more engagement when compared to ads on other networks during other primetime NFL games. Viewers were 31% more likely to search for brands/products advertised during TNF than viewers of ads on other networks during primetime NFL Week 13 2022.6
Compared to SNF and MNF primetime viewers, TNF viewers are7 :
293% more likely to search for Travel brands advertised
115% more likely to search for CPG brands advertised
100% more likely to search for Retail brands advertised
The increased engagement holds true for other shopping categories as well. TNF viewers are8:
- 92% more likely to search for Automotive brands advertised
- 38% more likely to search for Restaurants brands advertised
- 35% more likely to search for Consumer Electronics brands advertised
- 33% more likely to search for Insurance brands advertised
- 23% more likely to search for Telecom brands advertised
The engagement level of our viewers presents a key opportunity for advertisers on TNF to connect with their audiences.
The pregame and postgame shows are a hit
TNF on Prime Video goes beyond just the game itself. Pregame, halftime, and postgame shoulder programming boasts a talented core of host Charissa Thompson and analysts Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman, and Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Prior to kickoff is TNF Tonight, which previews the upcoming game and features player interviews. This season, the show is averaging 239K viewers in the 18-to-34 year-old demographic, +8% more than Monday Night Countdown on ESPN.9
Following the game are the TNF Postgame Show and TNF Nightcap, which brings on the player of the game and offers a comprehensive recap and analysis of the night’s action. According to Nielsen, the TNF Nightcap audience among the 18-to-34 year-old demographic is larger than late-night network talk shows (+674%) or SportsCenter on ESPN (+173%).10 The median age for TNF Nightcap viewers is also 43, in comparison to 63 for late-night talk shows.11
+674% more 18-to-34 year-old viewers than late-night network talk shows
+173% more 18-to-34 year-old viewers than SportsCenter on ESPN
The success of the 2022 season of TNF on Prime Video makes us excited for future seasons. We see this as just the beginning for opportunities to delight both fans and advertisers.
1 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US.
2 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US, 2022 Amazon TNF vs. 2021 FOX/NFLN TNF complete season.
3-4 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US, through 12/15/22.
5 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US, 9/18/22 through 12/12/22.
6 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US, through 12/5/22.
7 EDO, US, 9/15/22 through 12/15/22. NFL primetime comparison includes NFL Kickoff on NBC, Sunday Night Football on NBC, Monday Night Football on ESPN. Based on Google search rate.
8 EDO, US, 9/15/22 through 12/15/22. NFL primetime comparison includes NFL Kickoff on NBC, Sunday Night Football on NBC, Monday Night Football on ESPN. Based on Google search rate.
9-10 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US, through 12/15/22
11 Nielsen National TV Services, Live+Same Day, US, 9/15/22-12/12/22. Late-night talk show includes averages across Jimmy Fallon (NBC), Seth Meyers (NBC), Jimmy Kimmel (ABC), James Corden (CBS), Stephen Colbert (CBS). ESPN SportsCenter 11p – 12a.