USA TODAY Sports observed the production of Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ pregame show, ‘TNF Tonight.’
The show’s success is attributed to the chemistry between the cast and the collaborative production environment.
‘TNF Tonight’ has seen a significant ratings increase, with viewership up 18% from the previous season’s average.
FOXBOROUGH, MA – Throw on a headset a minute before Amazon Prime Video’s “Thursday Night Football” pregame show goes live, and, well, you hear some interesting things.
Booty, booty, booty, rockin’ everywhere, rockin’ everywhere.
That dog’s just sniffin’ away.
Oh guys! Lulu got adopted!
It must be showtime.
USA TODAY Sports sat in the production truck ahead of the New England Patriots’ victory over the New York Jets on Nov. 13 for the duration of Prime Video’s pregame show, “TNF Tonight.” This reporter heard everything senior coordinating producer Spoon Daftary told his talent seated onset inside Gillette Stadium – and what host Charissa Thompson and analysts Tony Gonzalez, Richard Sherman, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth relayed back to the production truck.
The interactions showed why the Prime Video studio crew has set the new standard for shows across the football media landscape.
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The show starts in about 37 seconds, but Daftary has an iPhone up to his ear. He’s still coordinating the appearance of Medal of Honor recipient Ryan Pitts, who was honored later in the show in a pretaped Veterans Day piece.
That all sorts itself out and moments later, the cacophony of countdowns and “gos!” fill the truck.
As the show goes through its opening segment smoothly, Daftary is making decisions to keep everything seamless. That shot of Aaron Glenn walking into the stadium with luggage? Boring. Let’s use a locker-room shot of a player readying himself instead. A question about the offensive coordinators in the game is tabled for the sake of time.
During a break, Daftary reveals “I called Marshawn (Lynch) yesterday.” The former NFL running back is a special contributor to Amazon’s pre- and post-game programming.
This show was a bit less hectic because of the two pre-taped segments – the Medal of Honor story and Rob Gronkowski, who had officially retired as a Patriot one day earlier, joining the set.
“There definitely needs to be an article tomorrow about this,” Daftary said about the predictably-off-the-wall “Gronk” session.
As he coaches his team in preparation to return from break, the collaborative spirit fills him. “What do you have here for C2?” he asks the graphics team. “Oh great!”
“You can speak too,” he adds for the group about the upcoming segment that features Fitzpatrick’s analysis.
Starpower is often the answer for most networks regarding their studio programming. ESPN has Jason Kelce and host Scott Van Pelt. The FOX crew lost Jimmy Johnson this season but replaced him with Gronkowski. CBS’ “NFL Today” has undergone a facelift to bring in fresh faces Matt Ryan and Nate Burleson (and J.J. Watt left for a booth job).
What other studio shows lack compared to the Prime crew, though, is the ability to genuinely blend the fun the format allows for, the football that must be discussed and the humanity – former players have these jobs because of the insight they can provide, after all.
Four years ago, Thompson – the host and television veteran – had to explain to her deskmates what an “A-block” meant. By Year 2, they were all pros.
“Spoon and I have dialogue and email back-and-forth after every show,” she told USA TODAY Sports in 2023. “Things we did good, things we did bad, things that we can get better on because I don’t ever want to get complacent.”
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The instructions sound like a classroom roll call after recess.
“We’re talking Vrabel here,” Daftary said. “Sherm, Whit, Tony.”
As Daftary wrangles his crew back from break, Thompson does a Ron Burgundy impression. “Ow, now, brown, cow,” she says. Sherman quotes T.I.’s “Bring Em Out” with a “mic check, one-two, one-two.”
Ratings are up across the entire league, from the traditional networks – CBS, for example, is touting its highest viewership since 1998 – to the newest full-time broadcast partner in Prime Video.
The week prior to this show, according to Amazon, “TNF Tonight” before the Denver Broncos-Las Vegas Raiders snoozer set a new average audience record with 2.18 million viewers – edging the previous best from the streamer’s first game this season between the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders (2.13 million viewers). That’s an 18% increase from last season’s average, and up from the 1.12 million average the show drew in its first season (2022).
“Do I have Ian?” Thompson wonders about the set’s connection to the at-home setup of reporter Ian Rapoport, who will join the team for the next segment with news and nuggets.
Sometimes, the voice from the other side offers a kind reminder to the crew.
“Sherm, you’re the only one who says you don’t like what they’re doing,” Daftary reiterated during a discussion about the Jets’ trade deadline selloff.
“Teeing up Fitz on the Jets,” Daftary says.
Fitz says his piece, while Daftary keeps going.
“Tony follows here,” he says.
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“I’ll take Woody,” Daftary adds, asking for the shot of Jets owner Woody Johnson on the field pregame.
Heading into a different segment, Daftary lets Thompson know the timing will be tight to get to the next break.
“Perfect,” he says after Thompson’s terse intro. “Out of this, Whit then Sherm.”
“Ohhh that’s kind of a fun one. Let’s go Gronk and Randy Moss,” Daftary says when a smart cameraman gets a shot of the former tight end and Hall of Fame wideout in attendance standing together on the field.
‘Where’s Christian Gonzalez?’ Fast pivots and spot fires part of production
It’s not all perfect. Sherman starts talking about Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez – defensive backs are often one another’s biggest fans – but no pregame shot has been prepared.
“Guys, where’s Christian Gonzalez?” Daftary wants to know.
Daftary keeps the teleprompter moving and on schedule for Thompson: “Move it up to E23.” “Think about 5 seconds an answer, Fitz,” he instructs for the sponsored gambling segment parlay.
At 7:58 local time, Daftary compliments the crew and cast for a solid first hour. “Sherm, reminder on the one turnover thing here,” he says to prep the Super Bowl champion for the final pregame word about the Jets’ defensive ineptitude.
Daftary let Thompson know the final segment before handing production over to the announcing booth for the next three hours was about to begin.
“Mics up for you guys too,” he tells his quartet of ex-NFL stars, “please.”
