TV Answer Man, DIRECTV and Amazon cut a deal so DIRECTV can show Thursday Night Football games. I see the game listed on channel 9526. Is that where we can watch the game if we have DIRECTV? How do we watch Thursday Night Football with DIRECTV? Do you need a Sunday Ticket subscription? — Bob, Chesapeake, Virginia.
Bob, DIRECTV and Amazon earlier this year signed a multi-year deal that permits the satcaster to provide Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcasts to more than 300,000 bars, restaurants, hotel lounges and other business venues.
This has led some DIRECTV’s residential customers to believe they can watch the games as part of their subscription. It’s hard not to blame them because the guide listing on DIRECTV’s channel 9526 says, ‘Prime TNF.’
Click Amazon: See Today’s 1-Day-Only Deals!
However, the DIRECTV/Amazon partnership does not extend to the general satellite audience, whether subscribers have a subscription to the NFL Sunday Ticket or not. If you want to watch Amazon’s TNF games, which continue tonight (October 13) with the Commanders-Bears matchup, you’ll have to watch them at Amazon via a Prime subscription (Amazon has a 30-day free trial) or the free Twitch service or NFL Plus. (If you live in the markets where the teams play, the TNF games will also be available on a local channel.)
DIRECTV’s channel 9526 is only for business clients. For example, if your bar has a DIRECTV business subscription, you can show the Amazon games to your customers by turning on that channel. But the channel is blacked out in the home to residential subscribers.
By the way, here’s a video on how to find a local bar that will show the Thursday Night Football games using a DIRECTV business account:
Bob, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
