Prime Video will kick off its 2026 Thursday Night Football season with the Detroit Lions at the Buffalo Bills on September 17.
The game will also mark the Bills’ home opener and the first regular-season NFL game at Orchard Park’s brand-new Highmark Stadium.
The matchup was announced Monday during Amazon’s 2026 Upfront presentation in New York.
Lions At Bills Opens Thursday Night Football
The Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills will face off September 17 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Prime Video says the game will launch TNF on Prime’s fifth year of exclusive Thursday Night Football coverage.
The matchup brings together two of the NFL’s most popular teams in recent seasons, with both clubs appearing in some of TNF’s most-watched games last season.
First Regular-Season Game At New Highmark Stadium
The Bills-Lions game carries extra weight for Buffalo fans.
It will be the Bills’ home opener and the first regular-season NFL game played at the new Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.
Prime Video is positioning the matchup as one of the most anticipated events of the 2026 NFL season.
Full Thursday Night Football Schedule Coming May 14
The full-season Thursday Night Football schedule will be released Thursday, May 14.
Prime Video’s 2026 NFL slate includes one preseason game, 15 Thursday Night Football games, Black Friday Football, and a third straight NFL Wild Card Playoff game in January.
Coverage for each Thursday Night Football game begins with TNF Tonight at 7 p.m. EDT.
Al Michaels And Kirk Herbstreit Return
Al Michaels returns as the voice of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video.
He will again be joined by analyst Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung reporting from the sidelines.
Pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage will feature Charissa Thompson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth, Tony Gonzalez, and Richard Sherman.
TNF Coming Off Record Viewership
Prime Video says the 2025 Thursday Night Football season was the most-watched season in the 20-year history of the package.
TNF averaged 15.33 million viewers across its 15-game season, marking a 16% increase over the previous year.
Prime Video also says Thursday Night Football viewership has grown 60% since the streamer began exclusive coverage in 2022.
The season ended with another milestone, as the Packers-Bears Wild Card game averaged 31.61 million viewers and became the most-streamed NFL game in history.
Thursday Night Football Earns Sports Emmy Nominations
Thursday Night Football also picked up seven nominations for the 47th annual Sports Emmy Awards.
The nominations include Outstanding Live Sports Series, Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly, and Outstanding Digital Innovation for Prime Video’s AI-powered broadcast enhancements.
Richard Sherman also earned his second straight nomination for Outstanding Emerging On-Air Talent.
The winners will be announced May 26 in New York.
How To Watch Thursday Night Football
Viewers in the U.S. can watch Thursday Night Football and Black Friday Football on Prime Video through connected TVs, streaming devices, set-top boxes, mobile devices, and the Prime Video app.
Games will also stream on Twitch and be available through over-the-air TV stations in the home markets of the competing teams.
Spanish-language coverage will also be available on Prime Video.
