Amazon’s Thursday Night Football broadcast has turned out to be a big headache for the fans who have subscribed to the platform. The broadcasting glitches during the Seattle Seahawks-Denver Broncos game are still fresh in the fans’ memories. The New England Patriots vs. Chicago Bears game added some more frustration to it.
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“prime video s**** man where even is TNF amazon actually biggest regression of UX of all tech history,” wrote a user on X.
These complaints came after HostingAdvice’s survey of 1,523 adults across 15 major U.S. NFL markets. According to the results, 52% of respondents who stream games had missed a key moment because of technical difficulties. Buffering and freezing topped the list of frustrations for 24%, followed by streaming delays compared with traditional TV, cited by 17%.
“Prime is terrible. Blurry, drops out, buffers. How does the #NFL allow such a crappy product to be broadcast? #TNF,” Brad Brisco, the co-author of Missional Essentials, tweeted last week, on October 15.
What stings the fans more is the fact that this broadcast is creating a hole in their pockets. Fans are paying $14.99 per month. Talking about loyalty towards Amazon’s Thursday Night Football?
Thursday Night Football has drawn larger audiences with each year of Amazon’s deal, averaging 15.33 million viewers in 2025, a 60% jump from 2022, Prime Video’s first season. Stronger matchups and expanded pregame and postgame coverage have helped, while the platform’s freedom from traditional TV scheduling allows for a different approach. But just six weeks into the season, complaints have started to pour in.
Viewers have questioned the inconsistency in streaming quality. They claimed that commercials play clearly while the game feed struggles. Some say other platforms, including YouTube and Netflix, work without problems, calling out Thursday Night Football.
What added to the fans’ pain were the broadcasters. Prime Video viewers were left scratching their heads when play-by-play announcer Al Michaels announced a fumble by the Patriots against the Bears, despite no fumble taking place.
At 81, Michaels continues to face online scrutiny over his occasional naming errors and subdued delivery, with some viewers calling for him to bring his broadcasting career to a close. But even after repeated complaints, Amazon is not ready to make a decision about Michaels. Everything combined led the fans to voice their frustration.
“does amazon make the twitch stream of TNF awful on purpose?” questioned a fan.
“Hey @amazon, get your s*** together. Why does video quality for TNF always s*** but the ads are perfectly clear?” wrote a fan.
“Amazon Prime Thursday Night Football is absolute f****** garbage. Legend of an announcer is half a** now. B******* f****** cameras angles.. and really, Kirk… lol #nfl #TNF,” another fan wrote.
“Amazon Prime needs to give up TNF. It looks like literal s*** lmao,” shared a fan.
“We pay a boatload of money to @PrimeVideo @amazon but we are all having issues with the quality of this TNF game. What are you guys doing over there? Clear it up, please. #TNF,” wrote a fan.