The shift toward streaming has happened.
In the third year of exclusive streaming (but for local markets in each game) on Prime Video, Thursday night football averaged 14.23 million viewers per game.
The biggest viewership came on Dec. 5, when 18.48 million tuned in to Packers-Lions. The low point came last Thursday, when 11.69 million watched a bad game between the Seahawks and Bears.
Prime Video will broadcast a playoff game the weekend of January 11-12. With the right matchup, the game could surpass 20 million average viewers.
The NFL released TNF in 2006, as a package of late-season games televised by NFL Network. It eventually expanded before migrating completely out of the NFLN.
In 2022, Prime Video acquired exclusive rights to the Thursday night package.