Al Michaels Named Lead Broadcaster For 'Thursday Night Football' On Amazon Prime

NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service

March 23, 2022: On the heels of ESPN unveiling Joe Buck and Troy Aikman as its lead team for NFL Monday Night Football, Amazon Prime Video has named veteran NFL play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit to call its exclusive coverage of NFL Thursday Night Football.

Financial terms of their deals were not revealed.

The inaugural season of Amazon Prime Video’s 11-year agreement is scheduled to begin Thursday, Sept. 15.

The full NFL schedule is planned to be released in early May.

“Over the last 36 seasons, I’ve been at the mic describing some of the most magical moments and games in NFL history and am looking forward to many more,” said Michaels via Amazon Prime Video.

“This is the new frontier in sports television and to be a part of the launch at this point in my career is both exciting and stimulating. The NFL is the king of unscripted television and I’m looking forward to joining Kirk to bring fans more dramatic episodes on Thursday nights this fall.”  

Michaels recently completed his record 36th campaign as a NFL play-by-play announcer, including the past 16 years with NBC as lead broadcaster for Sunday Night Football with Cris Collinsworth.

This past February, Michaels called his 11th Super Bowl.

Herbstreit has served as the lead college football analyst for ESPN since 1996.

ESPN today said that Herbstreit had signed a multi-year extension under which he is able to call games for Amazon Prime Video.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of Prime Video’s game-changing new Thursday Night Football telecasts, and it’s an honor to join the booth alongside Al,” said Herbstreit via Amazon Prime Video.

“Together, we will build the next generation of NFL programming. I’m proud to be part of the Amazon team and can’t wait to get started.”

The NFL's original agreement with Amazon Prime, unveiled as part of a larger series of media distribution deals in March 2021, saw Amazon Prime Video distributing Thursday Night Football starting with the 2023 season, paying $1 billion per year, according to industry analysts.

Last May, the NFL said Amazon Prime Video would be the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football beginning with the 2022 season in an 11-year deal put at $1.2 billion per year, also according to industry analysts.

In addition, Fred Gaudelli, a 24-time Emmy-winning producer, will join Prime Video as executive producer of Thursday Night Football.

According to Amazon Prime Video, Gaudelli will lead the Thursday Night Football production on-site each week “as part of a collaboration with NBC Sports, continuing a storied career with his 33rd season as the lead producer for the NFL in prime time.”

Gaudelli, who in February produced his seventh Super Bowl, will continue on NBC Sports’ executive team and will serve as a key contributor to NBC Sunday Night Football’s editorial and production efforts.

“Al and Kirk bring unparalleled experience to our historic new Thursday Night Football game telecasts, as we kick off our groundbreaking new agreement with the NFL,” Marie Donoghue, vp-Global Sports Video, Amazon, said via the company.

“This is the new frontier in sports television and to be a part of the launch at this point in my career is both exciting and stimulating."

“Having these two legends in the booth, with the best game producer in the business, Fred Gaudelli, will help make Thursday night the most exciting football night of the week.”

Prime Video becomes the first streaming service to air a season-long exclusive national broadcast package with the NFL.

The 11-year deal includes 15 regular-season games and one pre-season game per year, also including new pre-game, halftime, and postgame shows as well as interactive features such as X-Ray and Next Gen Stats powered by AWS.

Prime Video and the NFL will continue to collaborate on exclusive NFL content and enhanced fan-viewing experiences around Thursday Night Football.

The NFL’s long-term media deals, beginning in 2023, were valued at more than $113 billion by industry analysts, also including CBS, NBC and ESPN/ABC.

ESPN Scores Buck, Aikman For ‘Monday Night Football'

Amazon Prime Preps For ’Thursday Night Football'

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