AMAZON Prime Video has revealed its thought process when it comes to Al Michaels’ future at the streamer.
The iconic Michaels has called Thursday Night Football games for Prime Video since 2022.
Kirk Herbstreit and Al Michaels have been the voices of Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football since 2022[/caption]
Amazon’s VP and Global Head of Sports, Jay Marine, spoke about Michaels’ future with the streaming giant at Front Office Sports’s Tuned In summit in New York on Tuesday[/caption]
Prime Video agreed to pay $1 billion annually for the rights to exclusively show Thursday Night NFL games.
Michaels, who’s called 11 Super Bowls in his illustrious broadcasting career, is TNF’s play-by-play man and works alongside Kirk Herbstreit.
The 80-year-old’s three-year contract with Amazon expired after the 2024 season, but he returned for another campaign.
But Michaels is essentially working on a rolling contract with Prime Video.
Amazon’s VP and Global Head of Sports, Jay Marine, spoke at the Front Office Sports’s Tuned In summit in New York on Tuesday.
Marine revealed that Prime Video is “taking it year by year” with Michaels and “seeing how he’s feeling.”
Still, the streaming giant wants to keep Michaels, who’s arguably the best play-by-play sportscaster of his era with 50-plus years of industry experience.
“Gosh, well, first of all, I feel very fortunate that Thursday Night Football opens every Thursday with the voice of Al Michaels welcoming in America,” Marine said.
“It’s pretty cool.
“He’s incredible, and really what we’ve talked about with
Al, is really taking it year by year and seeing how he’s feeling.
“And so far, so good.
“He’s feeling great, he’s having a fantastic time, and there’s nobody better.”
Marine did admit that they haven’t spoken to Michaels about his future past the 2025 season.
It’s still unknown if Michaels will continue past the 2025 season.
Michaels has been calling NFL games for 39 years[/caption]
Michaels has made it known that he wants to go out quietly when he ends his career.
The U.S. Sun also caught up with Marine and asked him his thoughts on Herbstreit’s work on the primetime game.
Marine called the ESPN college football analyst’s work “fantastic” and said that he’s “really fortunate to have Kirk and Al in our booth.”
Prime Video is coming off a successful first week of production.
Amazon’s season debut game between the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers drew 17.76 million viewers.
It’s the best regular-season figure since its inception.
