Look, the days of just flipping to a random local channel and seeing the NFL logo are mostly dead. It's annoying. I know. You're sitting there with your wings ready, the game is about to kick off, and you're scrolling through a cable guide that feels like a relic from 2005. If you're wondering where can you watch Thursday night football tonight, the answer is almost certainly Amazon Prime Video.
Unless you live in the home market of the teams playing. Then it’s different.
NFL broadcasting rights have become a tangled web of billion-dollar contracts that make the average fan feel like they need a PhD in corporate law just to find a kickoff. Since 2022, Amazon has held the exclusive rights to the Thursday night package. This wasn't some minor experiment; it was a massive, 11-year deal worth about $1 billion annually. For the 2025 and 2026 seasons, that hasn't changed. If you want the full season of mid-week action, you’re basically an Amazon customer now.
It’s a digital-first world.
The Prime Video Monopoly (Mostly)
Most people think "exclusive" means "only," but in the NFL world, that's not quite true. For the vast majority of the United States, if you want to know where can you watch Thursday night football, you need a Prime membership or a standalone Prime Video subscription. You open the app on your smart TV, phone, or laptop, and it’s right there on the home screen.
Amazon has actually done some cool stuff with the tech. They have "X-Ray," which lets you see real-time Next Gen Stats, like how fast a wide receiver is actually running or the probability of a catch being made. It's geeky, but honestly, it’s better than the old-school broadcasts.
But what if you don't want to pay for Prime?
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There is a loophole, though it only applies to people living in the specific cities of the two teams playing that night. Per NFL rules, games must be available on free, over-the-air television in the local markets. So, if the Giants are playing the Cowboys, fans in New York and Dallas can usually find the game on a local station—often an ABC, NBC, or FOX affiliate. Everyone else? You’re stuck with the app.
What about Twitch?
Interestingly, Amazon also owns Twitch. For the last couple of seasons, they’ve experimented with streaming the game for free on the Prime Video Twitch channel. It’s a weird vibe—lots of emojis flying across the screen and a much younger audience—but it’s often a legitimate way to catch the stream without a traditional login, though they’ve tightened the restrictions on this recently to push more "official" sign-ups.
NFL+ and the Mobile Problem
Then there’s NFL+.
This is the league's own subscription service. It’s great if you’re a die-hard who watches everything on a phone. If you're asking where can you watch Thursday night football while you're stuck at a kid's soccer practice or commuting, NFL+ is a solid option.
However, there is a massive catch.
NFL+ only allows you to watch live local and primetime games on mobile devices (phones and tablets). You cannot—I repeat, cannot—stream the live game from the NFL+ app to your 65-inch television. They block the casting. It’s incredibly frustrating when you realize it at 8:15 PM. You can watch the full game replays on your TV after the whistle blows, but live? It's small screen only.
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Bars, Restaurants, and DirecTV
If you’re headed to a Buffalo Wild Wings or your local dive, you don't have to worry. Even though Amazon has the consumer rights, they signed a multi-year deal with DirecTV for Business. This means satellite providers can still beam the game into thousands of commercial establishments across the country.
Why? Because streaming 4K video to 50 different TVs in a sports bar is a bandwidth nightmare. Satellite is still the king of reliability for business owners. If you don't have internet at home or your Wi-Fi is acting like it’s 1998, just go to a bar.
International Fans are Luckier
If you’re reading this from London, Toronto, or Mexico City, the answer to where can you watch Thursday night football is totally different. DAZN is now the global home for NFL Game Pass. Unlike the messy US market, international fans usually get every single game—Thursday, Sunday, Monday—all in one place. It’s almost enough to make you want to use a VPN, though the NFL is notoriously good at blocking those.
Why Is This So Complicated?
It’s all about the money. The NFL is the only thing left that people actually watch live. This makes it the most valuable "inventory" in the world. By splitting the games between CBS, NBC, FOX, ESPN/ABC, Amazon, and now Netflix (for Christmas games), the league maximizes the amount of cash it pulls in from every corner of the tech and media world.
We are currently in the "fragmentation" era.
Back in the day, you just needed an antenna. Then you needed cable. Now you need a high-speed internet connection and at least four different apps to see every game your team plays. It’s a "streaming tax." If you're a fan of a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, you might play on four different platforms in a single month.
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Common Misconceptions
- "I can watch it on YouTube TV." Not exactly. You can watch the local broadcast on YouTube TV if you live in the home market. Otherwise, you’re just watching the pre-game show until the screen goes dark.
- "Thursday Night Football is on NFL Network." Not anymore. NFL Network used to be the home of these games, but they’ve shifted mostly to studio coverage and "game cuts."
- "It’s on Peacock." Only if it’s a specific "Peacock Exclusive" game, which usually happens once or twice a year (often on a Friday or a Saturday playoff game). Regular Thursday nights are Amazon's turf.
The Tech Specs You Need
Streaming live sports is harder on your internet than watching a movie on Netflix. Movies can "buffer" ahead of time. Live sports can't. If you want to watch the game without that annoying spinning circle or the resolution dropping to a blurry mess, you need:
- At least 15-25 Mbps of dedicated download speed.
- A hardwired ethernet cable if your Wi-Fi is spotty.
- A modern streaming device (Roku, Apple TV 4K, or a recent Smart TV).
If you notice the game is "behind" the alerts on your phone, that's latency. Most streams lag about 30 to 60 seconds behind the actual live action. If you’re a gambler or a heavy Twitter (X) user, turn off your notifications. There's nothing worse than seeing a "TOUCHDOWN!" text while the QB is still in the huddle on your screen.
How to Prepare for Kickoff
Don't wait until 8:14 PM to figure this out. The Amazon Prime Video app often needs an update right when you want to use it.
First, verify your login. If you share an account with a family member, make sure you aren't exceeding the "simultaneous stream" limit, though Amazon is usually pretty generous with this compared to Netflix. Second, check your local listings if you live in the home market of a playing team. You might be able to save your bandwidth and just use a cheap digital antenna to get the game in crisp, uncompressed HD.
Lastly, if you’re trying to save money, look for the "Prime Video" standalone subscription. You don't actually have to pay for the full "Free Shipping" Amazon Prime experience if all you care about is football. There’s usually a cheaper tier just for the video service.
The Actionable Playbook:
- Download the Prime Video app on your primary viewing device now.
- Check the "Home Market" rule. If your local team is playing, scan your local channels (ABC/FOX/NBC) first.
- Disable phone alerts. Streaming delay is real; don't let a text spoil a big play.
- Verify your internet speed. If you're under 10 Mbps, expect a frustrating night.
- Keep a mobile backup. Have the NFL+ app ready on your phone just in case your home internet decides to die in the fourth quarter.
The landscape is only getting more fractured, so getting comfortable with these platforms now is the only way to ensure you don't miss a single snap of the 2026 season.