Thursday Night Football Tonight: Schedule, Channel & Streaming Guide
Thursday Night Football is back on Prime Video for the 2026 NFL season, and Amazon has 15 Thursday games from Week 2 through Week 17, plus the Black Friday matchup and one Wild Card playoff game. Nearly every kickoff is 8:15 PM ET.
This guide gives you tonight’s matchup, the channel, the complete 2026 TNF schedule with dates and times, and every legal way to stream the game, including one that is genuinely free.
Who Plays Thursday Night Football Tonight?
There is no Prime Video game tonight. The 2026 Thursday Night Football season opens on Thursday, September 17, when the Detroit Lions visit the Buffalo Bills at 8:15 PM ET.
Before then, Amazon streams one preseason game: Patriots at Browns on Thursday, August 27 at 8:00 PM ET. The first Thursday night game of the regular season is Week 1 in Melbourne, Australia on September 10, and that one belongs to Netflix, not Prime Video.
Note: We refresh this section every week during the season with the current Thursday night matchup and kickoff time.
What Channel is Thursday Night Football On in 2026?
Thursday Night Football streams on Amazon Prime Video. It is a streaming exclusive, so no national cable or satellite channel carries it. Amazon’s 2026 package includes:
- 15 Thursday night games, Week 2 through Week 17, all at 8:15 PM ET
- The Black Friday game on November 27, Broncos at Steelers, 3:00 PM ET
- One preseason game on August 27, Patriots at Browns, 8:00 PM ET
- One Super Wild Card Weekend game on January 16 or 17, 2027
Two Thursdays are not on Prime Video. Week 1 on September 10 is the Melbourne game on Netflix, and Thanksgiving Day on November 26 carries three games split across CBS, FOX and NBC.
If your team is playing, you can also watch on free local TV. The NFL requires by contract that every Thursday night game air on an over the air station in each competing team’s home market, so an antenna is enough. The carrying station varies by city rather than sitting with one fixed network.
2026 Thursday Night Football Schedule
Every Thursday night NFL game of the 2026 season, including the games Prime Video does not carry. Times are Eastern.
| WEEK | DATE | MATCHUP | TIME (ET) | WHERE TO WATCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preseason | Thu, Aug 27 | Patriots at Browns | 8:00 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 1 | Thu, Sep 10 | 49ers at Rams (Melbourne) | 8:35 PM | Netflix |
| Week 2 | Thu, Sep 17 | Lions at Bills | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 3 | Thu, Sep 24 | Falcons at Packers | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 4 | Thu, Oct 1 | Steelers at Browns | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 5 | Thu, Oct 8 | Buccaneers at Cowboys | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 6 | Thu, Oct 15 | Seahawks at Broncos | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 7 | Thu, Oct 22 | Patriots at Bears | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 8 | Thu, Oct 29 | Panthers at Packers | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 9 | Thu, Nov 5 | Jaguars at Ravens | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 10 | Thu, Nov 12 | Commanders at Giants | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 11 | Thu, Nov 19 | Colts at Texans | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving triple header | 1:00, 4:30, 8:20 PM | CBS, FOX, NBC |
| Week 12 | Fri, Nov 27 | Broncos at Steelers (Black Friday) | 3:00 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 13 | Thu, Dec 3 | Chiefs at Rams | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 14 | Thu, Dec 10 | Vikings at Patriots | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 15 | Thu, Dec 17 | 49ers at Chargers | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 16 | Thu, Dec 24 | Texans at Eagles (Christmas Eve) | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Week 17 | Thu, Dec 31 | Ravens at Bengals (New Year’s Eve) | 8:15 PM | Prime Video |
| Wild Card | Sat Jan 16 or Sun Jan 17, 2027 | Matchup TBD | TBD | Prime Video |
Thanksgiving on November 26 features Bears at Lions (1:00 PM, CBS), Eagles at Cowboys (4:30 PM, FOX) and Chiefs at Bills (8:20 PM, NBC). Note that the Week 16 Prime Video game on December 24 is Christmas Eve. Christmas Day itself is Friday, December 25, with Packers at Bears and Bills at Broncos on Netflix and Rams at Seahawks on FOX. See our full NFL schedule for every other window.
How to Watch Thursday Night Football Tonight
Open the Prime Video app, sign in, and the game appears on the home screen or under Sports. Coverage starts with the TNF Tonight pregame show at 7:00 PM ET.
Prime membership plans and prices
| PLAN | PRICE | WHAT YOU GET |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Prime | $14.99/mo or $139/yr | TNF plus free shipping and the full Prime Video library |
| Prime for Young Adults | $7.49/mo or $69/yr | Ages 18 to 24, first six months free |
| Prime Access | $6.99/mo | Qualifying SNAP, Medicaid and WIC members |
| Free trial | $0 for 30 days | Full Prime access for new members |
Amazon also sells a cheaper Prime Video only subscription, but every one of its own Thursday Night Football pages describes the games as a Prime membership benefit and tells viewers to sign in to a Prime account.
If TNF is your reason for subscribing, Prime is the route Amazon actually documents. Our Prime Video NFL guide goes deeper on the plans.
Skip Prime Video Ultra for football. The ad free add on rose from $2.99 to $4.99 a month in April 2026 ($45.99 a year) and is now the only way to get 4K and Dolby Vision. But Amazon’s own terms say live TV and events such as sports may still include ads on Ultra, and TNF is produced in 1080p HDR rather than 4K, so the upgrade buys you almost nothing here.
Watching without paying for Prime
- Local over the air TV: the surest free option. If you live in either competing team’s market, the game airs on a local station and an antenna costs nothing per month.
- Twitch: Amazon confirms every Thursday Night Football game also streams live on its Prime Video channel at twitch.tv/primevideo. In past seasons viewers have not needed a paid subscription there, though Amazon does not spell out the access terms.
- Free trial: new members get 30 days of Prime at no cost, which covers roughly four Thursday games.
Supported devices
- Smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio and others
- Streaming players including Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast
- Phones and tablets through the Prime Video app
- Computers at PrimeVideo.com
- Game consoles including PlayStation and Xbox
You can stream on several devices at once, so the living room TV and a phone in another room both work on one account.
Watching through NFL Plus
NFL Plus carries live local and primetime games, which includes Thursday night, but only on phones and tablets. It will not stream live games to a connected TV. The base plan costs $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year. Full game, condensed and All 22 coaches film replays sit behind NFL Plus Premium at $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year.
Announcers and Broadcast Features
Al Michaels returns on play by play alongside analyst Kirk Herbstreit, with Kaylee Hartung on the sideline and Taylor Rooks handling features and interviews.
Terry McAulay is the rules analyst. Charissa Thompson hosts TNF Tonight with Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman.
- Prime Vision with Next Gen Stats: the weekly alternate stream returns for 2026 with AI enhancements Amazon calls Prime Insights. It is built around the High-Sky camera, an elevated view from behind the quarterback, plus Coverage ID, Defensive Alerts, Prime Targets and Pressure Alert.
- TNF en Español: a full Spanish broadcast rather than a dubbed audio track, called by Miguel Gurwitz and Rolando Cantú.
- Interactive features: Key Moments, live Stats and Rapid Recap, which you can pull up without leaving the stream.
- Picture quality: 1080p HDR with Dolby surround sound, the format Amazon has used since 2023.
Watching From Outside the United States
Prime Video’s TNF rights are limited to the United States. In Canada, Thursday night games air on TSN, and Canadian viewers also get NFL Game Pass bundled into a regular DAZN subscription.
Everywhere else, NFL Game Pass on DAZN carries the season but is sold as a standalone package or an add on rather than being included in a base DAZN plan.
DAZN is unavailable in the United States and China, and in the UK and Ireland some Sunday windows arrive on demand a day later instead of live.
Thursday Night Football FAQs
What time does Thursday Night Football start?
Kickoff is 8:15 PM ET for all 15 Prime Video Thursday games in 2026, with the TNF Tonight pregame show at 7:00 PM ET. Two games break the pattern: the Black Friday game on November 27 kicks off at 3:00 PM ET, and the Week 1 Melbourne game on September 10 starts at 8:35 PM ET.
Is Thursday Night Football only on Prime Video?
Prime Video has 15 of the 17 Thursday slates in 2026. Two are elsewhere: Week 1 on September 10 from Melbourne is on Netflix, and the three Thanksgiving games on November 26 are on CBS, FOX and NBC. Every Prime Video game is also carried on an over the air station in each competing team home market, because the NFL requires it by contract.
Can I watch Thursday Night Football for free?
Yes, if you live in either competing team home market. The NFL requires every Prime Video game to air on a local over the air station there, so an antenna is enough. Amazon also streams each game on the Prime Video channel on Twitch, and new Amazon customers get a 30 day free trial.
Do I need Amazon Prime to watch TNF?
Amazon ties Thursday Night Football to a Prime membership, which costs 14.99 dollars a month or 139 dollars a year. Students pay 7.49 dollars a month and Prime Access members pay 6.99 dollars a month. Amazon does sell a cheaper Prime Video only plan, but its own TNF pages describe the games as a Prime benefit, so Prime is the route it documents.
Is Thursday Night Football available in 4K?
No. Amazon has produced TNF in 1080p HDR with Dolby surround sound since 2023 and has never announced a 4K feed. The Prime Video Ultra add on unlocks 4K for other titles, but Amazon states that live sports may still include ads on Ultra, so it changes little for TNF viewers.
Can I stream Thursday Night Football on my phone?
Yes. Use the Prime Video app on any phone or tablet. NFL Plus also carries live primetime games, but only on phones and tablets, not on connected TVs. Twitch works on mobile too.
Are Thursday Night Football replays available after the game?
Prime Video posts the full game replay and highlights once the live stream ends. On NFL Plus, full game, condensed and All 22 coaches film replays require the Premium tier rather than the base plan.
Will there be a Thursday Night Football playoff game in 2027?
Yes. Amazon holds one Super Wild Card Weekend game, set for Saturday January 16 or Sunday January 17, 2027. The matchup is assigned after Week 18 finishes on January 10, 2027.
The Bottom Line
Thursday Night Football in 2026 lives on Prime Video, with 15 Thursday games at 8:15 PM ET from September 17 through December 31, the Black Friday game on November 27, and a Wild Card game in January 2027. Netflix has the Melbourne opener and the Thanksgiving triple header stays on network TV. If your team is playing, the game is on free local TV in your market anyway. Bookmark this page and check back each week for tonight’s matchup and kickoff time.
