Al Michaels Joins Amazon's 'Thursday Night Football' Lineup
The veteran announcer will be joined in the booth by ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit.
Longtime commentator Al Michaels has departed NBC to join the team at Amazon's new Thursday Night Football.
Veteran NFL commentator Al Michaels is joining the broadcast booth for Amazon's new Thursday Night Football package. Michaels, lead announcer for NBC's Sunday Night Football for more than 15 years, will be joined in the booth by ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who'll continue covering college football for the cable sports network.
Marie Donoghue, Amazon's vice president of global sports video, said in a statement that the duo "bring[s] unparalleled experience" to the streaming service's new NFL deal.
Before heading to NBC, Michaels spent two decades as the play-by-play commentator on ABC's Monday Night Football.
"Over the last 36 seasons, I've been at the mic describing some of the most magical moments and games in NFL history and am looking forward to many more," Michaels said in a statement. He called his Amazon post "the new frontier in sports television."
Thursday Night Football marks the first time a streaming service like Amazon has aired NFL games without a traditional broadcast partner.
Amazon has also signed longtime Sunday Night Football Executive Producer Fred Gaudelli to oversee the show. (Gaudelli will continue on the NBC Sports executive team, according to The Hollywood Reporter.)
The Thursday night show marks the first time a streaming platform has been the sole home for NFL games, without a traditional TV partner. Prime Video has been streaming Thursday Night Football games for several seasons but always in conjunction with Fox or other networks.
Amazon initially planned to launch Thursday Night Football in 2023 but moved up the debut to this year. It also expanded its 10-year deal with the NFL to 11 years.
The streaming giant is slated to carry 15 Thursday night NFL games per season, along with one preseason game.