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Amazon's NFL Thursday Night Football exclusive now starts in 2022

The technology giant and the NFL are bumping up the start date for their new agreement.

Eli Blumenthal Senior Editor
Eli Blumenthal is a senior editor at CNET with a particular focus on covering the latest in the ever-changing worlds of telecom, streaming and sports. He previously worked as a technology reporter at USA Today.
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Amazon seemingly can't wait to get its hands on the NFL's Thursday Night Football package, so much so that it is moving up the start date of its new deal with the league to the 2022 season. 

The news, announced Monday ahead of Amazon's presentation at the advertising event NewFronts, will see the company expand its previously announced 10-year deal with the NFL to 11 years. The technology titan originally revealed that it would be the exclusive home to Thursday Night Football games starting in the 2023 season, though games will continue to air on local TV in teams' home markets. 

As per the earlier announcement, Amazon will carry 15 Thursday Night Football games as one well as one preseason NFL game. The deal runs through the 2032 NFL season. 

Although Amazon has been streaming Thursday Night Football games on its Prime Video platform for the past few seasons, it was doing so in conjunction with a traditional broadcaster like Fox. The NFL's new deal marked the first time a streaming platform would be the sole home for the games without a traditional TV partner, with Amazon saying Monday that additional production details will be shared "in the coming months."