Prime Video Kicks Off 2026 "Thursday Night Football" Season with Lions at Bills, September 17

Bills home opener and first regular-season NFL game at Orchard Park's brand-new Highmark Stadium

Full-Season TNF Schedule to be released Thursday, May 14

NEW YORK - May 11, 2026 - TNF on Prime's fifth year of exclusive coverage will kick off with one of the most anticipated events of the season when the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills square off on September 17th at Orchard Park's Highmark Stadium, the NFL's newest state-of-the-art venue. The marquee matchup between the perennial NFC and AFC powers was announced this evening by TNF Tonight's Charissa Thompson, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth on the stage of Manhattan's Beacon Theatre during Amazon's 2026 Upfront presentation.

Following a 2025 campaign that ranked as the most-watched season ever across the 20-year history of Thursday Night Football, this 2026 season opener pits two of the NFL's most popular teams of the last several years. Both the Lions and Bills competed in games that ranked among TNF's most-watched events last season. Today's announcement arrives in advance of the full-season TNF schedule, which will be released on Thursday, May 14. This coming season's exclusive slate of NFL games on Prime Video includes one preseason game, 15 Thursday Night Football events, Black Friday Football, and a third consecutive NFL Wild Card Playoff game in January.

Returning to the NFL on Prime this season is the legendary voice of Al Michaels, who works alongside five-time Emmy Award-winning analyst Kirk Herbstreit with Kaylee Hartung patrolling the sidelines. Pregame, halftime and postgame coverage features Thompson, Fitzpatrick, Whitworth, Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez and Super Bowl Champion Richard Sherman. TNF on Prime's 2025 season averaged 15.33 million viewers throughout its 15-game campaign, marking a +16% increase over the previous year and the third-consecutive year of double-digit, year-over-year viewership growth. Since Prime Video's inaugural year of exclusive coverage in 2022, TNF's viewership has grown +60%. Prime Video culminated last season's coverage with a new record for the most-streamed NFL game in history, when the Packers-Bears Wild Card game in January averaged 31.61 million viewers.

Thursday Night Football was honored with seven nominations for the 47th annual Sports Emmy(R) Awards, spanning categories that include Outstanding Live Sports Series, Outstanding Studio Show - Weekly, and Outstanding Digital Innovation for its proprietary AI-powered broadcast enhancements. TNF's pre, half, and postgame analyst Richard Sherman also earned his second consecutive nomination for Outstanding Emerging On-Air Talent. The winners will be announced on May 26th at the Sports Emmy Awards ceremony in New York.

Viewers in the U.S. can watch Thursday Night Football and Black Friday Football on Prime Video in their living rooms on connected televisions, streaming media players, or set-top boxes by using the Prime Video app, which is also available on mobile. In addition, viewers can stream online on Amazon, and on phones and tablets with NFL+. Each Thursday Night Football game also streams live on Twitch and is available on over-the-air TV stations in the two home markets of the competing teams, as well as in Spanish language on Prime Video. Coverage kicks off each Thursday with TNF Tonight at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

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