NFL Kickoff 2025: Prime Sports Starts New Season at Lambeau Field; Sets Sights on Holiday Matchups, Second-Ever Playoff Game
Story Highlights
A new NFL season means another chapter in Prime Sports’ presentation of Thursday Night Football (TNF). Beginning tonight at historic Lambeau Field for Washington Commanders vs. Green Bay Packers at 7 p.m. ET, this year’s schedule will feature an all-new set of AI-powered broadcast enhancements, the return of its all-star cast of on-air talent and Emmy Award-winning production team, and the streamer’s second NFL Wild Card game in their history.
Home of the Alt-Cast: Prime Vision Continues Integration of Next Gen Stats, Unique Camera Angles
Prime Video leverages the breadth of Amazon’s technological resources and in-house expertise to continuously enhance the viewing experience for fans, and deepen their engagement with the sports they love. A hallmark of this ethos is TNF‘s weekly alternate stream, Prime Vision with Next Gen Stats, which provides a next-level viewing experience for fans, complete with AI-powered innovations, on-screen graphic overlays, and in-game reports from Analytics Expert Sam Schwartzstein. Viewpoints from Prime Vision’s distinctive High-Sky camera angle deliver pre-snap motions, offensive line play, blitzing defenders, QB maneuvers, and receivers throughout their routes, allowing fans to experience the game from a quarterback’s perspective. The alternate stream also includes pre-snap player ID tags, receiver route trees, and real-time player tracking data such as ball-carrier speed, yards after catch, and QB time to throw.
AI Analysis: New Set of Prime Insights Make an Impact
Prime Vision serves as a laboratory and incubator for new features that may eventually advance to the main feed, as Prime Video continues to pioneer the integration of AI into live sports through broadcast enhancements called Prime Insights. These proprietary innovations — developed through a unique collaboration between Prime Video producers, engineers, on-air analysts and former NFL players, AI and computer vision experts, and enabled by AWS’s industry-leading AI capabilities and infrastructure — highlight key athletes, illuminate hidden aspects, forecast pivotal moments, and bring fans closer to the action.
TNF will introduce a new set of AI-powered Prime Insights throughout the 2025 season, including:
Pocket Health
A proprietary AI model instantly analyzes tens of thousands of data points across the offensive line throughout the play, generating dynamic on-screen visuals and statistics that illustrate threat levels affecting the QB’s protection in the pocket.
End of Game Suite
A trio of tools that deliver insights surrounding crucial late-game scenarios and strategies for both teams:
- Path to Victory – Employs AI to predict remaining possession scenarios for trailing teams to map potential paths toward a comeback victory.
- Time Remaining Prediction – Advanced game clock analysis that predicts how much time will be left on the clock if the defense can force a three-and-out.
- Victory Formation – Identifies the right amount of time on the clock needed for a leading team to secure one final first down, and the ability to kneel out for victory.
TNF’s returning Prime Insights include (*indicates features that are also on TNF’s main feed):
Defensive Alerts (also available on TNF’s main feed)
The first predictive behavior AI model ever employed within a live NFL broadcast, Defensive Alerts tracks the movements of defensive players prior to the snap, and highlights those identified by the AI model as a threat to blitz the quarterback.
Coverage ID (also available on TNF’s main feed)
Identifies the defensive scheme (e.g., Zone, Man) for fans in real time before the snap.
Pressure Alert (also available on TNF’s main feed)
Detects defenders attacking the offensive backfield during live action and highlights those in position to disrupt the play.
Field Goal Target Zones
Overlays multiple lines on the field to deliver the likelihood a kicker will make a field goal, providing crucial context on drives at the end of a game or half when a field goal has added importance.
Prime Targets
Tracks and highlights open receivers in real-time throughout their routes with a green orb.
Four-Down Territory
Indicates where the offense needs to advance the ball to earn an analytically strong “go for it” recommendation on fourth down.
An Emmy Award-Winning Backbone: Production, Ops Teams Supply Ample Support
TNF’s game coverage is produced by Mark Teitelman. All pregame, halftime and postgame coverage is produced by Mike Muriano and Spoon Daftary. TNF’s Prime Vision with Next Gen Stats is produced by Alex Strand and Scott Karpen. All Prime Sports event coverage is overseen by Prime Video’s Global Head of Live Sports Production Jared Stacy.
Prime Sports’ next-generation productions will once again originating from state-of-the-art fleet of mobile production units anchored by “Prime One,” the command center that produces each game in 1080p native high dynamic range (HDR) video and Dolby Surround Sound audio. Prime Video and AWS technology combine to create a proprietary, end-to-end livestreaming solution that delivers ultra-low latency, eliminates drift and ensures synchronization. Each live stream features top-tier quality, delivering live action from the stadium to the screen with delivery speeds that match and often surpass what fans receive from traditional cable and broadcast networks. TNF’s arsenal of production equipment also includes 50+ cameras that cover every angle of the action, giving each TNF presentation a big-game, “primetime” feel.
TNT Tonight & Talent in the Booth: Familiar Faces Provide All-Encompassing Coverage
Each Thursday, pregame coverage commences live and onsite with TNF Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT, followed by kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET. An unparalleled lineup of postgame content follows each game with the TNF Postgame Show and TNF Nightcap, bringing Stars of the Game to the on-field set, previewing upcoming NFL action, and providing a unique blend of sports and late-night revelry.
The legendary Al Michaels will call his 40th season of prime-time NFL coverage in 2025, joining Emmy Award-winning analyst Kirk Herbstreit in the main broadcast booth, with sideline reports from Kaylee Hartung. Host Charissa Thompson, alongside analysts and former NFL stars Andrew Whitworth, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Richard Sherman, comprise TNF’s celebrated pregame, halftime and postgame coverage. Taylor Rooks provides weekly features with the NFL’s brightest stars, and Marshawn Lynch’s Emmy-nominated ‘N ‘Yo City segments also return to TNF this season. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport will contribute reports from around the league. Additionally, Prime Sports will offer TNF en Español for a Spanish-speaking audience, with Emmy Award-winning announcer Miguel Gurwitz and analyst Rolando Cantú on the call.
Thursday’s Commanders-Packers broadcast also marks the debut of a brand-new show open for TNF, featuring five-time GRAMMY nominee Shaboozey and his new song “Let ‘Em Know,” a track he created specifically for TNF. Leading into TNF Tonight and Thursday Night Kickoff, the song celebrates the start of each week’s NFL action throughout the season. A first look at the new collaboration kicked off TNF’s national marketing campaign, which features Shaboozey performing alongside TNF‘s on-air talent and fans from across the league in an NFL-themed backyard party.
Fan-First Viewing: Upgraded Interface Folds In New Features
Prime is continually upgrading the technology behind TNF and will unveil an all-new interface for the 2025 season, continuing the evolution of live sports consumption into a customized online experience. Interactive features for the 2025 season include:
Shop the Game
TNF is now shoppable with Shop the Game, Amazon’s in-game shopping experience. Without interrupting gameplay, this innovative technology delivers a seamless, customer-first experience, allowing viewers to find deals and merchandise from their favorite teams. Fans can search “shop the game” in the Amazon shopping app to browse the experience anytime.
Key Moments
Key Moments utilizes AI to provide fans with an ability to view in-game highlights on demand while watching TNF. A bank of pivotal plays and big moments builds as the game progresses and offers viewers immediate access throughout the broadcast.
Stats
An all-new CX provides viewers with an easy and intuitive way to check real-time game stats, including Next Gen Stats powered by AWS, league standings, and team and player info, all without ever leaving the live game.
Rapid Recap
Rapid Recap assists those who join the game in-progress and want to catch up on the action they missed before entering the livestream. Accessible after selecting “Watch,” Rapid Recap employs AI to compile highlights, and features upgraded transitions between clips, to deliver a full recap lasting no longer than two minutes. Once caught up, fans are automatically dropped into live action.
League-Wide Action: Schedule Includes High-Profile Matchups, Black Friday Game
Coming off of their first-ever playoff game last season, Prime Video’s 17 total games are highlighted by 10 divisional matchups, every playoff team from last season, and two appearances by the Super Bowl-Champion Philadelphia Eagles. Classic rivalries are peppered throughout, including Dolphins-Bills, 49ers-Rams, Steelers-Bengals, and a Week 6 NFC East clash between the Eagles and Giants when Saquon Barkley makes his annual return to MetLife Stadium. The schedule also showcases compelling cross-divisional battles, including Lions-Cowboys, Bills-Texans, and Ravens-Dolphins. TNF then bookends the holiday season with a Black Friday Football matchup between the Eagles and Bears, followed by a primetime Christmas affair as the Chiefs host the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium.
Here is a full schedule of games:
- Week 2 – Sept. 11: Washington Commanders at Green Bay Packers
- Week 3 – Sept. 18: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
- Week 4 – Sept. 25: Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals
- Week 5 – Oct. 2: San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams
- Week 6 – Oct. 9: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants
- Week 7 – Oct. 16: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 8 – Oct. 23: Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Chargers
- Week 9 – Oct. 30: Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins
- Week 10 – Nov. 6: Las Vegas Raiders at Denver Broncos
- Week 11 – Nov. 13: New York Jets at New England Patriots
- Week 12 – Nov. 20: Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
- Week 13 – Black Friday: Friday, Nov. 28: Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 14 – Dec. 4: Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions
- Week 15 – Dec. 11: Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Week 16 – Dec. 18: Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
- Week 17 – Christmas Night: Dec. 25: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
- NFL Wild Card Playoff Game: Jan. 10 or 11
