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Afternoon Edition

January 2, 2025

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Even for a viewership juggernaut like the NFL, year-over-year gains are meaningful. Under that logic, Amazon’s NFL viewership rising 13% in a year is a big deal—even if it falls short of traditional TV numbers.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Amazon’s NFL Ratings Rose 13% in 2024. A Playoff Game Is Next [[link removed]]

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After three seasons, Amazon’s coverage of Thursday Night Football still isn’t quite matching the package’s prior linear viewership, but it’s getting closer and continues to solidify itself as a vital part of the NFL’s broadcast landscape.

The streaming and online retail giant finished its 2024 season of TNF on Prime Video with an average per-game audience of 13.2 million, according to Nielsen panel measurements—up 11% from last year’s comparable 11.86 million [[link removed]] and by 38% from 9.58 million in 2022. When including Amazon’s Black Friday game between the Chiefs and Raiders, which drew an average of 13.5 million viewers [[link removed]], the year-over-year lift increases to 13%.

Those figures are still less than the 16.2 million viewers on average who watched Thursday night games in 2021 on Fox and the NFL Network. Now three seasons in, though, Amazon’s coverage continues to show meaningful gains, and it draws a younger audience than the rest of the NFL’s broadcast partners. TNF games had a median viewer age of 49, nearly seven years younger than viewers watching the NFL on linear TV, and more than 14 years younger than the league’s audience on broadcast networks.

Along those lines, Amazon said this season was the most watched for the Thursday night package among viewers ages 18–34 with an average of 2.61 million viewers per game in that demographic—up by 37% from the final season of Thursday games on linear TV in 2021. The company also registered new viewership highs in the age groups of 18–49 and 25–54.

It’s also a wealthier audience, as Nielsen data showed TNF viewers had a median household income of $101,800, 16% higher than the comparable NFL average on linear networks.

“We could not be more proud of our partnership with The NFL, our viewership growth, and the innovations we’ve initiated for fans and brands over these first three seasons of TNF on Prime,” said Jay Marine, Prime Video’s global head of sports and ads, in a statement.

The Bigger Picture

Perhaps even more impactful, though, the company continued to show advancement in its game production [[link removed]], using its data, analytics, and artificial intelligence capabilities to full advantage. Amazon also used its NFL foothold to help extend its reach further into both the NBA with a rights deal beginning next season [[link removed]] and the NHL with weekly Monday night coverage in Canada [[link removed]].

When also including a local rights deal for the Yankees, Amazon now has a presence in all four major U.S. men’s pro leagues [[link removed]], as well as in top women’s sports with rights for the WNBA [[link removed]] and NWSL [[link removed]]. It also is a major distributor for the restructured and rebranded Main Street Sports [[link removed]] regional network operator, formerly known as Diamond Sports Group.

Amazon’s success with large-scale NFL streaming, meanwhile, has also helped the league move forward with its separate and historic endeavor with Netflix for Christmas Day games [[link removed]].

The NFL season isn’t quite done for Amazon, however, as it will have one of the upcoming wild-card games [[link removed]] for the first time, an event that could challenge the league’s streaming record of 24.3 million average viewers just set by Netflix. That Amazon playoff game will be on either Jan. 11 or 12, and will be finalized after the end of the regular season.

SPONSORED BY SPORTRADAR

Shaping the Future of Fan Engagement

Today’s sports fans want more than just a game—they want an experience. Together, the NBA and Sportradar [[link removed]]are delivering just that by transforming data into immersive, interactive moments that redefine what it means to be a fan.

From 3D game visualizations and live-betting integrations to AI-driven storytelling tools, their partnership leverages cutting-edge technology [[link removed]] to meet the demands of younger, multi-screen audiences.

With 2 billion fans globally and €112 billion in basketball betting turnover, this collaboration is setting the standard for how sports leagues and tech partners can shape the future of engagement.

Read the full article. [[link removed]]

RSN Owner DSG Emerges From Bankruptcy With New Name and Plan [[link removed]]

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Diamond Sports Group has officially emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection—with both a new vision for the business and a new name.

The regional sports network operator has completed its restructuring, finalizing a reorganization plan that gained court approval in November [[link removed]]. With the company’s reemergence, it will now be known as Main Street Sports Group. The new name, of course, provides some separation from the DSG brand that became heavily damaged during a 20-month bankruptcy proceeding but also leans further in to its local media focus.

“With a stronger balance sheet, key partnerships, [and] supportive new owners, we are modernizing our business to thrive in a changing media landscape,” said Main Street Sports CEO David Preschlack.

The company’s network of 16 individual RSNs will still carry FanDuel branding, part of a naming-rights deal completed in October [[link removed]] that is a fundamental component of the bankruptcy reorganization.

Main Street Sports currently holds local rights for 13 NBA teams, eight NHL teams, and eight MLB clubs. That latter count of baseball deals rose by one earlier this week after the Brewers surprisingly reversed their prior plan to work with MLB’s in-house model [[link removed]] in 2025 and instead agreed to a restructured agreement with Main Street Sports.

“The decision to continue our rights agreement with FanDuel Sports Network ensures that fans will have seamless access to watch the Brewers in 2025, while enjoying the same high-quality production and roster of on-air talent that fans have enjoyed over the years,” said Rick Schlesinger, Brewers president of business operations.

Six MLB clubs—the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Padres, Reds, Rockies, and Twins—are still with the league model for the upcoming season, and commissioner Rob Manfred is still working on a long-term plan to pool the sports’ regional and national media rights [[link removed]].

Comprehensive Steps Taken

Main Street Sports’ debt load of about $9 billion going into bankruptcy protection has been reduced to $200 million, in no small part through agreements in which some bondholders exchanged that debt for equity.

The company also completed a critical deal with Amazon [[link removed]] last fall for the streaming and online retail giant to help distribute live games. The company overhaul, long thought by many to be an unlikely outcome at best, additionally included several other key steps such as an operational separation from Sinclair, the retooling of rights deals with the NBA and NHL [[link removed]], and the resolution of several legal disputes.

Bryce James, LeBron’s Second Son, Commits to Arizona [[link removed]]

Katie Goodale-Imagn Images

Bryce James, the second son of Lakers star LeBron James, announced Wednesday on Instagram that he has committed to Arizona [[link removed]] as part of the school’s 2025 men’s basketball class. The decision comes just months after Bronny James, 20, Bryce’s older brother, was drafted by the Lakers with the No. 55 pick.

Bronny and LeBron became the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game [[link removed]] during the Lakers’ home opener on Oct. 22.

While there’s been criticism over the Lakers’ decision to select Bronny James, who averaged under five points and three rebounds during his lone season at USC, LeBron’s eldest son was a top-25 prospect in the 2023 class, according to both ESPN [[link removed]] and 247Sports [[link removed]]. He suffered a cardiac arrest the summer before his freshman year.

Bryce, 17, has not received close to as much hype as his older brother. At 6-foot-6, he is much taller than Bronny (who is 6-foot-2), but the four-star prospect is not in ESPN’s Top 100 for the class of 2025 and is ranked No. 257 [[link removed]] on 247Sports’ list. Even given his family name, Bryce is not projected to be an NBA-caliber player at the moment. However, it’s not uncommon for players to make jumps in college like Grizzlies stars Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, who were both unranked coming out of high school.

He also does not have the same social following as his older brother (8.1 million Instagram followers for Bronny compared to 2.1 million for Bryce). But as LeBron’s son, he will still be a draw for fans and endorsements alike (especially if his dad decides to attend games as he did with Bronny [[link removed]]), which, in the NIL (name, image, and likeness) era of the NCAA, provides additional value for schools. But the flip side for some institutions [[link removed]] is that accommodating the added attention James will bring comes with more work and potential chaos.

Bryce has received offers from Ohio State and Duquesne, which is located in Pittsburgh, but he ultimately chose the school closest to their family’s home in Los Angeles. LeBron has ties to the two other schools that offered Bryce, as he was born and raised in Akron, Ohio, and grew up as a fan of the Buckeyes, while his former coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School [[link removed]], Keith Dambrot, is the current head coach of the Dukes.

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Front Office Sports will bring you an unmissable lineup of virtual and in-person events for 2025 [[link removed]]. From cutting-edge summits to curated tastemaker experiences, we’re covering the hottest topics in the industry.

Sign up [[link removed]] for Front Office Sports Live email updates and follow us on LinkedIn [[link removed]] to be the first to know about new events, programming updates, and exclusive offers to attend.

STATUS REPORT Four Up

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Simone Biles ⬆ The seven-time Olympic gold medalist was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year [[link removed]] after winning three golds and a bronze in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Biles dealt with mental health issues during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when she withdrew from the women’s team final and four other finals. Biles beat out other strong candidates for the honor, including unanimous NL MVP and World Series champion Shohei Ohtani and Caitlin Clark, who was named the Time Athlete of the Year [[link removed]] in December.

Thunder ⬆ Oklahoma City has won six straight since losing in the NBA Cup final Dec. 17. Because that is not included in the 82-game regular-season schedule, the Thunder have won 12 straight dating back to Dec. 1. The win streak counters schedule concerns posed by the tournament [[link removed]] since teams that did not compete received an extended rest period. The Thunder played the first game of a road back-to-back two days after the tournament final, which head coach Mark Daigneault said the NBA “would never schedule” [[link removed]] in any other circumstance. The Bucks, the NBA Cup champions, are 3–3 since the tournament.

TCU ⬆ The Horned Frogs have hired Mike Buddie as their next athletic director. Buddie was the AD at Army since 2019, which included a 12-win season for the Black Knights football team for the first time in history. The team also won the American Athletic Conference in its first season in the league under his watch.

David Beckham ⬆ The branded businesses of the soccer legend paid him around $124 million in dividends [[link removed]], according to the Financial Times. The report is based on accounts filed by DRJB Holdings, which includes David Beckham Ventures Limited that earns licensing revenues from brands like Boss. The 49-year-old is also the co-founder and co-owner of Inter Miami.

SPONSORED BY PRUDENTIAL

Protecting Generations with Marcus Mariota

Marcus Mariota—a former Rose Bowl Game champion and soon-to-be father of two—is teaming up with Prudential to highlight the importance of financial planning. In Protecting Generations [[link removed]], Marcus shares how preparing today can create a strong foundation for Generation Beta and beyond.

For 150 years, Prudential [[link removed]] has helped families secure their future through thoughtful decisions and smart planning. As the proud title sponsor of the Rose Bowl Game for the third consecutive year, Prudential continues to support this cultural tradition while showcasing its commitment to protecting what matters most—your life’s work.

Discover how Marcus is preparing [[link removed]] for his growing family’s future and learn how you can secure yours.*

Conversation Starters Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers got emotional when Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta surprised him with the news that he made his first Pro Bowl. Take a look [[link removed]]. Charles Du is a walk-on Notre Dame cornerback from Beijing. His CFP nameplate features his name in Chinese [[link removed]]. A couple got married during the Citrus Bowl and their wedding was officiated by a giant Cheez-It. Check it out [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Sugar Bowl to Proceed Despite Louisiana AG’s Desire for Delay [[link removed]]by Amanda Christovich [[link removed]]The Notre Dame–Georgia matchup is on after calls to delay it further. Knicks, NHL Teams Go Dark in New York Amid Cable Dispute [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]The companies failed to reach a new deal after weeks of negotiating. Phil Knight’s NIL Juggernaut Cut Down by Nike School With Own $20 Million Roster [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]To top it off, Ohio State is a Nike school. DISCLAIMER

*Marcus and Kiyomi Mariota are non-customer, paid promoters of Prudential Financial. Learn more about the material terms of their relationship with Prudential at [[link removed]].

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