By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman
Reader Question
TV Answer Man, do you know if you need a Prime subscription with Amazon to watch the Thursday Night Football games? — Ben, Toledo, Ohio.
Ben, Amazon Prime Video has the exclusive rights to the NFL’s Thursday Night Football games during the 2023 season. That means the games will not be on Fox, the NFL Sunday Ticket or the NFL Network. It’s a streaming exclusive. But that doesn’t mean you need an Amazon Prime membership to watch the games. In fact, there are four ways to watch TNF without one.
How to Watch Thursday Night Football Without an Amazon Prime Sub
1. Local channels
The game will air for free (with an antenna) in the home markets of the two teams playing. Check your local listings if you team is playing. The game will be on a local network affiliate.
2. Bars and restaurants
Amazon has a multi-year agreement with DIRECTV to allow the satcaster to beam the TNF games to commercial venues, including bars and restaurants. You can read this article for more details on how to find a DIRECTV bar in your area.
Can You Get a Free Trial to Amazon Prime?
3. Free trial
Amazon offers a 30-day free trial to Amazon Prime. You could sign up today and watch Thursday night’s game between the Panthers and Bears and at least three more games after that, including this year’s first Black Friday contest. Just be sure to cancel prior to the end of the month if you don’t want to stay with Prime membership.
4. Twitch
You can watch the TNF games for free on Twitch, the Amazon-owned gaming service.
How to Subscribe to Amazon Prime
While those methods are free, if you want to subscribe to Prime, a membership costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year. A membership plan to only Amazon Prime Video is $8.99 a month. (The Prime membership provides many more benefits, such as free two-day shipping.)
Amazon’s TNF Games For 2023
Week 10 – Nov. 9: Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
Week 11 – Nov. 16: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Week 12 (Black Friday) – Friday, Nov. 24: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
Week 13 – Nov. 30: Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys
Week 14 – Dec. 7: New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 15 – Dec. 14: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
Week 16 – Dec. 21: New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams
Week 17 – Dec. 28: New York Jets at Cleveland Browns
Ben, 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.
The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
Having NFL+ Premium, I can tell you that if you do not have Amazon Prime, then you cannot start to see the game until 10 minutes after it ends for a rebroadcast.
That is the same for the Sunday Night and Monday Night game as well.
I have cut the cord and so I am not able to watch the Fox Sunday games either live
on NFL+ Premium. I have Paramount+ and Peacock so I could use it for those games. Though I got it for NFL RedZone and the NFL Network.