Where to Watch Thursday Night Football

Where to watch Thursday Night Football tonight comes down to one thing: whether you're in the right TV market or the right Amazon subscription tier.

Tonight's Week 3 matchup, Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers, kicks off at 8:15 PM ET on Prime Video — and unlike a lot of streaming questions, there's a genuinely free way to watch it, not just a free trial dressed up as one.

Amazon holds exclusive national rights to Thursday Night Football as part of an 11-year deal with the NFL.

That doesn't mean every option costs money. It means you need to know which of the free paths actually applies to you before you reach for your wallet.

Where to watch Thursday Night Football: free vs. paid, side by side

ServiceWhat it streamsFree?CostAccount needed?Live or replayAvailable in your areaTwitch (Prime Video channel)Every Thursday Night Football gameYes$0Free Twitch accountLiveNationwide (US)Local over-the-air affiliateOnly games involving your local teamYes$0 (antenna)No accountLiveFalcons/Packers home markets onlyAmazon Prime (full membership)Every Thursday Night Football game, plus Prime shipping and other perksNo$14.99/mo or $139/yrYesLive and on-demandNationwide (US)Prime Video standaloneEvery Thursday Night Football gameNo$8.99/mo (with ads); +$4.99/mo for ad-freeYesLive and on-demandNationwide (US)NFL+Local and primetime games, mobile/tablet onlyNo$6.99/mo or $49.99/yrYesLive (mobile only) and replaysNationwide (US)

Which one fits you

Just want tonight's game and don't want to pay anything: Twitch is your best bet — open the Prime Video channel on Twitch, no subscription required. If you live in the Atlanta or Green Bay TV market, your local over-the-air affiliate carries it too.

Already pay for Amazon Prime for shipping or other streaming: you already have this. Just open the Prime Video app — no extra step, no extra charge.

Mainly watch on your phone and want the cheapest year-round option: NFL+ at $49.99 a year covers every local and primetime game, but only on a phone or tablet, never on a TV or computer.

Where to watch Thursday Night Football, option by option

Twitch (Prime Video's channel) streams every Thursday Night Football game live at no cost, a holdover from Amazon's original 2018 deal that it has kept in place as it built out Prime Video's exclusive package.

How to use it:

1. Go to twitch.tv or open the Twitch app on your phone, smart TV, or console
2. Create a free account if you don't already have one
3. Search for "Prime Video" or "Thursday Night Football" in the search bar
4. Open the channel before the 8:15 PM ET kickoff
5. Select the standard broadcast, the Spanish-language feed, or the PrimeVision stats overlay, depending on what's offered that week

The honest catch: Twitch isn't listed on every device the way Prime Video is — there's no Twitch app on Roku, so Roku users need another route.

Local over-the-air affiliate is the simplest option if your team is playing: the NFL requires every Prime Video Thursday game to also air on a broadcast station in each competing team's home market, so Falcons and Packers fans can watch with nothing but an antenna.

How to use it:

1. Check which local station carries the game in your market — it varies by city and isn't fixed in advance
2. Confirm your antenna picks up that station's signal
3. Tune in around 7:45 PM ET for pregame coverage
4. Watch the broadcast, no login or app required
5. If reception is weak, an indoor antenna upgrade usually fixes it

The catch: this only works if you live in the Atlanta or Green Bay broadcast area. Everyone else needs one of the other options.

Amazon Prime (full membership) is the most complete paid option — it includes the entire Thursday Night Football slate live and on-demand, plus free shipping, Prime Music, and other Amazon perks. It runs $14.99 a month or $139 a year.

How to use it:

1. Sign up at amazon.com/prime or through the Prime Video app
2. Choose monthly or annual billing
3. Open the Prime Video app and sign in
4. Find Thursday Night Football on the home screen or under Sports
5. Start the stream a few minutes before kickoff

Worth knowing: you're paying for a lot more than football here — if the shipping and other perks don't matter to you, the standalone plan below is cheaper.

Prime Video standalone gives you the same Thursday Night Football coverage without the rest of Amazon Prime, for $8.99 a month with ads, or $13.98 a month for the ad-free Ultra tier.

How to use it:

1. Go to primevideo.com and select the standalone plan
2. Choose the ad-supported or Ultra (ad-free) tier
3. Complete signup with a payment method
4. Search for Thursday Night Football in the app
5. Stream live or catch the replay afterward

Worth knowing: this plan still includes ads by default — removing them costs almost as much as the base plan itself.

NFL+ is the league's own app, built primarily for mobile viewing. The standard plan covers every local and primetime game live, but only on a phone or tablet, for $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year.

How to use it:

1. Download the NFL app or go to NFL.com
2. Subscribe to NFL+ (not NFL+ Premium, unless you also want RedZone and replays)
3. Sign in on your phone or tablet
4. Find tonight's game under Live
5. Stream on your device — casting to a TV isn't supported on the standard plan

Worth knowing: NFL+ Premium, at $14.99 a month, adds RedZone and full replays, but even that tier doesn't unlock live out-of-market Sunday afternoon games — that's what NFL Sunday Ticket is for, and it doesn't apply to Thursday night at all.

Broadcast rights: why "free" only goes so far

Amazon's Thursday Night Football deal is exclusive — no cable network, no other streamer, carries the national broadcast. The two carve-outs are Twitch, which Amazon itself keeps open and free, and the local over-the-air simulcast the NFL requires in each competing team's home market. Everyone outside those two lanes needs a paid Amazon or NFL+ subscription.

This is also where NFL+ gets misunderstood. Its standard plan streams live local and primetime games, including Thursday Night Football — but only on a phone or tablet, never on a television or computer. If you're picturing NFL+ replacing cable on your living room TV for Thursday nights, it won't; that's not what the plan is built to do.

What to know before kickoff

• Kickoff is 8:15 PM ET (5:15 PM PT) — check the conversion for your time zone
• Not every Thursday game follows this pattern: the Week 1 game streamed on Netflix, and Thanksgiving games air on CBS, FOX, and NBC instead of Prime Video
• Twitch has no app on Roku — Prime Video, standalone Prime Video, or your local affiliate are your options there
• NFL+ doesn't support casting live primetime games to a TV on the standard plan
• A stable connection matters more for Prime Video's live stream than for on-demand catalog titles — check your bandwidth before kickoff
• The exact local affiliate station for tonight's game varies by market and isn't finalized until close to game day — check your local listings or the team's own schedule page
• Prime Video's free trial (when available) technically lets a new member watch a Thursday game at no cost, but it converts to a paid subscription automatically unless canceled

What it actually costs, free to full season

If you're in the Falcons or Packers market, or willing to use Twitch, tonight's game costs nothing. For the full season on the paid side, Amazon Prime's annual plan works out to about $11.58 a month once you include shipping and other perks, while NFL+'s standard annual plan runs $49.99 for the year — a little over a dollar a week — with the tradeoff that it's mobile-only.

Frequently asked questions

Is Thursday Night Football really free on Twitch? Yes — no Prime membership or payment is required, just a free Twitch account.

What time does the Falcons-Packers game start? 8:15 PM ET, which is 5:15 PM PT.

Can I watch on my TV without paying anything? Only if you live in the Atlanta or Green Bay broadcast market and can pick up the local affiliate with an antenna. Otherwise, Twitch works on smart TVs, consoles, and streaming devices except Roku.

Does NFL+ let me watch on my TV? Not on the standard plan — live primetime games are restricted to phone and tablet.

Is every Thursday game on Prime Video? No — the Week 1 international game streamed on Netflix, and Thanksgiving games air on CBS, FOX, and NBC.

Is NFL Sunday Ticket useful for Thursday Night Football? No — Sunday Ticket covers out-of-market Sunday afternoon games only, not Thursday night.

Once you know which market you're in and which app you already pay for, the real question isn't where to watch Thursday Night Football — it's whether you need to pay for it at all tonight.