Amazon is taking over prime real estate on Thursday night’s next NFL season, but it’s been a mystery how they will produce Thursday Night Football. According to the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand, the company is working on a deal with NBC to join forces and produce its Thursday Night Football package.
Sources told Marchand that the Amazon-NBC contract is likely to be a three-year deal, with Amazon having the option to extend it to five. In doing so, NBC would lend the services of famed Sunday Night Football producer Fred Gaudelli.
With Gaudelli, Amazon is hoping that entices Al Michaels to be their number one play-by-play man. Michaels is in the final year of his NBC deal, but it’s not out of the question that he could work for both companies.
Marchand previously reported the legendary broadcaster is Amazon’s top choice to lead their exclusive coverage of Thursday NFL action. CBS’s Ian Eagle and Fox’s Joe Buck have also emerged as top targets if the streaming giant can’t land Michaels. The two sides have discussed sharing Michaels, with the broadcaster calling 15 games for Amazon and then shifting over to NBC for the Wild Card Round.
The dominoes could continue falling if Amazon can bring in Michaels. The company has been quiet on the color commentator front, but Marchand noted they could take a run at Peyton Manning.
Amazon plans to have Michaels and Manning in the booth with Maria Taylor on the sidelines, pending her current contract negotiations with ESPN.
Taylor’s ESPN deal expires on July 20, and NBC is currently trying to woo her away quickly in time for Tokyo Olympics coverage on July 23. The production deal between NBC and Amazon means fans could be in store for a weekly double-dip of the top football talents at NBC. A lot of things hang in the balance as Amazon prepares to dive into NFL coverage.