Thursday Night Football is averaging 17.7 million viewers on Prime Video, Amazon says

Amazon's fifth season of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video has averaged 17.7 million viewers over its first six games, the company said on October 29, 2026, in its third-quarter results, citing Nielsen. Amazon called it the best start the package has had and said the average is 16% higher than last season's full-season average.

Basketball also drew a bigger audience. Amazon said the opening doubleheader of the second season of NBA on Prime attracted more than 2 million U.S. viewers, more than double last season's full-season average, again according to Nielsen. A year earlier, Amazon reported an average of 1.25 million for the first season's opening doubleheader.

Prime Video's sports audiences, in Amazon's figures

Amazon compared this season's early average with last season's full-season average. A year ago, it reported 15.3 million for the 2025 season's opening games, which it called the best for Thursday Night Football on any network in a decade; in February it said the full season averaged more than 15 million, the package's most-watched season and its third straight year of double-digit growth. Measured against the October 2025 figure, this year's 17.7 million is also about 16% higher (our calculation), although Amazon did not say how many games the 2025 figure covered.

Prime Video also carried a playoff game last season. Amazon said more than 31 million viewers watched the Packers vs. Bears Wild Card game, which it called the most-streamed NFL game in history.

Series, films and Fire TV

Outside sports, Amazon said season four of Reacher drew 66 million viewers worldwide in its first 28 days. Unlike this quarter's sports figures, that number is not attributed to Nielsen, and the release does not define a viewer. Amazon MGM Studios has passed $1.2 billion at the global box office so far in 2026, with films including Project Hail Mary and Verity, Amazon said, and Alexa+ is now free for U.S. customers with compatible Fire TV devices.

Where it shows up in the accounts

Amazon does not report Prime Video's revenue separately. Its advertising services line, which includes video advertising, grew 11% to $19.6 billion in the quarter, or 12% excluding currency moves, compared with 26% on that basis in the second quarter. Amazon said the third quarter was affected by timing, mainly Prime Day, which took place in the second quarter in most large countries this year but fell entirely in the third quarter in 2025. It expects advertising revenue to grow in the high teens in the fourth quarter.

Subscription services, which include Prime membership fees as well as digital video, audiobook and digital music subscriptions, grew 11% to $14.0 billion in the quarter. Amazon does not say how much of either line comes from Prime Video.

Viewer counts depend on what is measured and by whom. For how Nielsen tracks TV and streaming, see our explainer on The Gauge, and for how two counts of the same game can differ, see our report on the WNBA Finals.