Amazon's 'TNF' coverage will be Nielsen-rated

Amazon’s exclusive “Thursday Night Football” games will be Nielsen-rated for the next three seasons, marking the first time that Nielsen’s national TV measurement system will incorporate a streaming service. This is a big step in the streaming world, as advertisers have been frustrated by a lack of transparency from digital streams. To date, most streaming services, including Apple TV+ and ESPN+, do not share specific viewing information to advertisers. When streaming companies share viewing information, it typically is not vetted by a third party.

Amazon and Nielsen signed a three-year deal to allow Nielsen to provide viewership information for “TNF” pregame, in-game and postgame programming on Prime Video and Twitch, plus the local broadcast channels that carry the games. The measurement starts this season. The first measurement will come from Amazon’s 49ers-Texans preseason game on Aug. 25.