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Prime Video Taps Michael Smith as News Analyst For Thursday Night Football Coverage

Aug 09, 2022

Distinguished journalist, reporter, and host to provide insights and latest news from around the NFL throughout Thursday Night Football’s wraparound coverage

Prime Video’s inaugural Thursday Night Football season kicks off on September 15 with Chargers at Chiefs

NEW YORK—August 9—Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football continues to bolster its on-air talent roster for the upcoming season, as the streamer announced today that Michael Smith will join its coverage as its Thursday Night Football news analyst.

In this role, Smith will deliver and analyze the latest news from around the NFL, and advance pertinent stories with insightful commentary and information throughout Thursday Night Football’s pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage.

“Michael Smith is one of sports’ most respected reporters, and we look forward to him bringing his storytelling and insights to our Thursday Night Football coverage,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president, Global Sports Video, Amazon.

“I’ve spent more than two decades covering dynasties and super teams—now I finally get to be a part of one,” said Smith. “The talent and experience Prime Video have assembled on-camera, behind the camera, and throughout the entire TNF team qualifies as a bona fide Dream Team, and it’s an actual dream come true for me to be a part of a historic, groundbreaking prime-time NFL broadcast.”

Michael Smith is one of sports media’s most respected, versatile, and accomplished storytellers. Since 2020, he’s been a host and commentator for NBC Sports, serving as co-host and executive producer of the sports, current events, and culture show Brother From Another on Peacock, and contributed to NBC’s pregame coverage of Super Bowl LVI. Previously, over 15 years at ESPN, Michael served as a reporter, commentator, host, and anchor. He began his time in Bristol as an NFL insider and E:60 correspondent, before going on to co-host his own daily talk show, His & Hers, and co-anchoring SportsCenter. Prior to joining ESPN, Michael was a reporter for The Boston Globe, serving as the paper’s NFL and New England Patriots beat writer. He is also the co-founder of the California- and Connecticut-based content studio, Inflection Point Entertainment, and is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Smith began his career while a student at Loyola University in his hometown of New Orleans. He received his B.S. in mass communication from Loyola in 2001.

Smith joins Thursday Night Football’s all-star broadcast team that includes legendary play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, five-time Emmy-winning analyst Kirk Herbstreit, award-winning reporter Kaylee Hartung, Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, NFL quarterback extraordinaire Ryan Fitzpatrick, NFL expert and top sports television host Charissa Thompson, contributors and Super Bowl Champions Andrew Whitworth and Aqib Talib, and emerging star Taylor Rooks as feature reporter. Fred Gaudelli, producer of seven Super Bowls and a recent inductee into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, will serve as the executive producer of Thursday Night Football’s game coverage. Multi-Emmy-award-winners Mike Muriano and Spoon Daftary are the executive and senior coordinating producers of Thursday Night Football’s pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage.

Kicking off September 15, Prime Video will become the first streaming service to air a season-long exclusive national broadcast package with the NFL. The 11-year deal includes 15 regular-season games and one preseason game per year, with Prime Video also delivering new pregame, halftime, and postgame shows as well as fan-favorite interactive features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats powered by AWS. Viewers can stream from the web at amazon.com or by using the Prime Video app, which is available on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs. Each Thursday Night Football game will also stream live on Twitch and will be available on over-the-air TV stations in the two home markets of the competing teams. For all the latest information regarding TNF on Prime Video, visit amazon.com/TNF and follow NFL on Prime on Twitter. To join Prime or start a free 30-day trial, visit amazon.com/prime.

Thursday Night Football Schedule:

Pregame Coverage Begins at 7 p.m. EDT. Kickoff Time 8:15 p.m. EDT.

Week 2 - Sept. 15: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO)
Week 3 - Sept. 22: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH)
Week 4 - Sept. 29: Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati Bengals (Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH)
Week 5 - Oct. 6: Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos (Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, CO)
Week 6 - Oct. 13: Washington Commanders at Chicago Bears (Soldier Field, Chicago, IL)
Week 7 - Oct. 20: New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ)
Week 8 - Oct. 27: Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL)
Week 9 - Nov. 3: Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans (NRG Stadium, Houston, TX)
Week 10 - Nov. 10: Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC)
Week 11 - Nov. 17: Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers (Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI)
Week 13 - Dec. 1: Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA)
Week 14 - Dec. 8: Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA)
Week 15 - Dec. 15: San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (Lumen Field, Seattle, WA)
Week 16 - Dec. 22: Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets (MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ)
Week 17 - Dec. 29: Dallas Cowboys at Tennessee Titans (Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN)

About Prime Video Sports

Prime Video supports a growing lineup of live sports globally, including Thursday Night Football, the WNBA, the Seattle Storm, the New York Yankees, and Seattle Sounders FC in the United States; Premier League in the United Kingdom; US Open Tennis, ATP, and WTA in the United Kingdom and Ireland; UEFA Champions League football in Germany and Italy; Roland-Garros and Ligue 1 in France; Australian Swimming globally; and New Zealand Cricket in India. While availability varies by marketplace, fans can also subscribe to streaming services such as Eurosport, FOX Sports (Mexico), LaLigaTV, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, NBA TV, and Premiere FC (Brazil) through Prime Video Channels. This is in addition to a selection of Amazon Original All or Nothing sports docuseries including All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur, All or Nothing: Juventus, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, and All or Nothing seasons with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines football team.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.