Boosting The Fan Experience
Hello Readers! My name is Teddy Stavetski and, as a former Most Valuable Walk-On for the University of Miami football team, football has always been a huge part of my life.
That’s why I was pretty excited when I saw that Amazon (AMZN) was going to dish out $1 billion per year (for 11 years!) for the exclusive rights to stream Thursday Night Football. Since Amazon never enters a business unless it knows that it can improve it, I had high hopes.
Amazon usually goes above and beyond to provide the best experience possible for its customers. So far, Amazon’s TNF streaming experience has been no exception. It has delivered plenty of features that let fans keep their eyes on the action while using their voice to interact with the game.
Watching TNF with Alexa is almost like having Bill Belichick on the couch next to you.
5 Alexa and FireTV Benefits
There are five key ways that Amazon has incorporated Alexa into its Thursday Night Football viewing experience.
5.) X-Ray Mode: Asking Alexa to “Open X-Ray” will bring up a list of real-time stats relevant to the game. This includes things like a receiver’s yards after a catch or the QB’s average throw time. This is a massive advantage for hardcore fantasy football players.
4.) In-game questions: During the game, you can fire off football-related questions at Alexa like “who has the most tackles today” without disrupting the game.
3.) Accessing the game: Say goodbye to frantically searching through channels in search of the right station. Instead, just say “Alexa, play Thursday Night Football” to get to the action.
2.) Record games: Just ask Alexa to add TNF to your watchlist and all games will be automatically recorded.
1.) Follow your team: If you ask Alexa to follow your favorite team then she’ll send you notifications about their schedule, scores, and breaking news to your Fire TV or Echo device.
Another W for Amazon?
If Amazon was a football player then it’d probably be Tom Brady. In other words, it’s a generational talent that makes excellence look routine.
Amazon took a huge bet (to the tune of $1 billion per year) on buying the NFL streaming rights in hopes of driving new signups for Prime membership. So far, it looks like the bet is paying off.
Jay Marine, the global head of Amazon’s sports division, stated “the audience numbers exceeded all of our expectations for viewership.” Although it’s still early in the season, he’s already called TNF on Amazon Prime a “resounding success”.
Only time will tell if this was just a lucky Week 1 win or if Amazon really has what it takes to bring home a ring.