'Thursday Night Football' sets ratings mark

Amazon Prime’s much-awaited Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins matchup on Thursday Night Football turned out to be a dud on the field, but proved a ratings winner for the streaming service.

The Bills easily handled the Dolphins, 31-10, but the game boasted an intriguing storyline late, as Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered another concussion .

Amazon Prime announced Friday that the game attracted a peak audience of 18.09 million viewers,  a TNF record. It averaged 14.96 million viewers, making it the third most-watched TNF game.

For some perspective, Amazon Prime reported the average viewership topped TNF’s 2023 season average by 26% (14.96 million viewers compared to 11.86 million).

In addition, TNF’s pregame show, TNF Tonight , averaged 1.88 million viewers, setting a new record. That show likely benefitted from airing reporter Taylor Rooks’ interview with Tyreek Hill about his recent encounter with police officers, an incident that sparked a national debate. The TNF Tonight panel then gave their thoughts on the issue.

Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and analyst Kirk Herbstreit talked about Hill’s ordeal , with Michaels calling video of the incident, “unbelievable in a way.”

Amazon Prime has high hopes for this year’s TNF ratings. Many observers, including Michaels, have noted the improved slate of games . The Bills-Dolphins matchup certainly did not disappoint, even if the game failed to meet expectations on the field.

[ Prime Video Sports PR ]

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