TV Answer Man, I know Amazon says you can record a Thursday Night Football game and watch it later on replay. But can you download it like you can some movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime? You know, so you can watch it without an Internet connection if you want to? — Arnie, Cleveland. 

Arnie, you’re right. Amazon has incorporated DVR controls into its exclusive Thursday Night Football games so you can record the game and watch it later as well as pause, rewind and fast-forward during live action. (However, not everyone is happy with the DVR’s performance.)

The company’s Prime Video service also permits downloading of certain movies and TV shows so they can be watched offline (no Internet connection) on mobile devices, Apple and Android phone and tablets as well as on the Amazon Fire tablet apps. This is very handy if you’re away from your home Internet connection, such as traveling in a car or sitting in a coffee shop without WiFi.

But does Amazon offer downloads of the Thursday Night Football games, too?

The answer: No.

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You don’t have to be a veteran media reporter to guess why. The NFL would not be pleased if people could easily download league games and possibly distribute them to millions of their best friends. That’s why the games come with strict copyrights.

The best I can suggest is that you try to record the games and watch them when you have an Internet connection available. You can see our article for more details on how to do that.

By the way, Amazon’s third exclusive TNF game is tonight with the Miami Dolphins visiting the Cincinnati Bengals at 8 p.m. (Pre-game show starts at 7 p.m. ET.)

Arnie, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman