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NFL Live Streams Move From Twitter to Amazon Prime

Amazon beat out Twitter and several other big-name bidders like Google and Facebook to stream the NFL's Thursday Night Football games this upcoming season.

Angela Moscaritolo
 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Hope you enjoyed those free NFL streams on Twitter while they lasted.

As the The Wall Street Journal reports, Amazon beat out Twitter and several other big-name bidders like Google and Facebook to stream the NFL's Thursday Night Football games this upcoming season. When the games streamed on Twitter last season, anyone who logged in could watch them for free. Going forward, the live streams will be limited to subscribers of Amazon's $99 yearly or $10.99 monthly Prime service.

Amazon reportedly paid around $50 million to stream 10 games, which will also air on TV on the NFL Network and either CBS or NBC. That's up from the $10 million that Twitter paid for a similar 10-game streaming deal last season, the Journal says.

Amazon did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment, but the company's Senior Vice President, Jeff Blackburn, told the Journal that Amazon is "focused on bringing … customers what they want to watch."

"Prime members want the NFL," he added. Amazon is also looking to add NBA, soccer, and surfing live streams to its lineup, according to the Journal.

Meanwhile, Twitter confirmed to PCMag that it will not stream NFL games in 2017.

"Since last year, we have collaborated on over 40 live stream partnerships and we will continue to bring the best live content to our customers around the world," a Twitter spokesman said. "In Q1 2017, we aired more than 800 hours of live-stream content from over 400 events across sports, news, politics and entertainment. The NFL was a great partner to launch our strategy and we will continue to work with them to bring great content to our passionate sports fans."

NFL fans were keen to watch the games on Twitter last season. The 2016 Thursday Night Football season kickoff featuring the New York Jets versus the Buffalo Bills, plus the pregame show, reached 2.3 million users worldwide on Twitter.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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