Amazon is launching a promotion to raise the profile of its Thursday Night Football exclusive streaming gamecast and link merchandise sales to it, even as it furthers other established initiatives including the rollout of its Amazon Fresh stores.
The first Amazon Thursday Night Football game on Prime Video is set for September 15, the company stated. As part of the launch, Amazon is rolling out game day experience and highlighting NFL-licensed products, and Prime members who shop the merchandise can take advantage of exclusive deals and discounts. In addition, Amazon will feature Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice as he joins Prime members in Los Angeles on September 15 for a party at the Fonda Theater. Amazon also surprised Prime members in each of the 15 cities hosting a Thursday Night Football this season with one-of-a-kind, in-stadium game day experiences.
Consumers can connect with all the Amazon initiatives via amazon.com/TNFcentral and discover weekly updates. Deals for the first two weeks of the season include :
- Save up to 25% on select NFL gear, including drinkware, tailgate essentials, apparel and footwear on September 15.
- Save up to 20% on select NFL team T-shirts and hoodies from Team Fan Apparel on September 22.
The Thursday Night Football site on Amazon also includes deals and a list of every NFL team that links to merchandising including drinkware, coolers, grilling tools and decor items.
More than 250 Prime members who added Thursday Night Football to their Prime Video Watchlist will join Rice in Los Angeles for The Fonda Theatre party, an event that will include live commentary, game-inspired sound effects and other interactive enhancements.
Another 150 Prime members who added Thursday Night Football to their watchlist for a specific game received an invitation to enjoy an in-person event. For the first Thursday Night Football game on September 15 and at every game for the remainder of the season, winners and their guests will receive a curated package of experiences featuring game tickets, personal videos from a hometown player, goodie bags, a meet-up with special guests including retired players and field during passes for pregame warmups.
“Live sports continue to be a game changer for Prime members,” said Jamil Ghani, vice president of Amazon Prime, in announcing the football initiative. “The value Prime brings to members is now even better with the launch of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video. With these exclusive offers and experiences, Prime members score big savings and get even greater access, all with a single membership.”
In addition to the Thursday Night Football effort, Amazon has been busy with other strategic moves including the continued rollout of physical stores. The company just opened its first Amazon Go store in the Los Angeles area, on Whittier Blvd. in Whittier, CA. Another is slated to open soon in Torrance, CA. The 4,100-square-foot Whittier store features Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, which allows consumers to skip the checkout process. It is the second of a new suburban format Go store, the first having opened in Mill Creek, WA, this past April. The Torrance store will share the suburban format.
In August, Amazon announced Seattle Seahawks and Lumen Field were opening the first store in an NFL venue to be equipped with Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology after the company had rolled out similar operations in Elmont, NY’s UBS Arena and baseball venues including T-Mobile Park in Seattle. In addition, the company continues to introduce new Amazon Fresh grocery stores, also with Just Walk Out technology, opening up the New York metro market to the format, with locations in Oceanside, NY, and Paramus, NJ, debuting this summer. Amazon Fresh locations open this summer also include Encino, CA, Westlake Village, CA, Federal Way, WA, Chevy Chase, MD, and Broomall, PA. A Pasadena, CA, Amazon Fresh also is scheduled for September 15.
