Amazon streams its first NFL game of the season tonight. As the Minnesota Vikings face off against the Los Angeles Rams, the e-commerce giant will launch a way for fans to shop directly from their TV sets without pausing the game.
Prime Video subscribers watching Thursday Night Football on Fire TV devices will be able to click up on their remote controls to browse t-shirts, hats, and select other official NFL merchandise from the home and away team, the company announced today. The experience uses Prime Video’s existing X-Ray feature, where viewers can jump to different scenes or see information about the program’s cast, characters, music, or trivia from the Internet Movie Database overlaid on top of the video.
Shopping during Thursday Night Football will be similar. Fans will be able to click up, select the “shopping” tab within X-Ray, and browse the merchandise available for purchase. The game will continue to play live in the background, so customers won’t miss a pass. They will have to leave the game to buy the items, though. They’ll be taken to the ShopTV app, which comes installed on Fire TV devices, to complete the purchase.
The shopping tab gives a glimpse of what’s possible when Amazon combines its growing live and on-demand video arsenal, Prime Video platform, Fire TV devices, and massive online shopping operations. It’s only available to Prime Video subscribers with Fire TV devices in the US during Thursday Night Football right now, but it’s easy to imagine how shopping could evolve on Prime Video from there. Love that dress Midge is wearing in Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? Click up to buy!
Amazon also had a live shopping show that directed viewers to products via a gallery below the video. And it’s working on a fashion-forward reality series with Project Runway star Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn. (Few details have been revealed.)
The shopping experience is one of a few new features Amazon is adding to X-Ray on Fire TVs specifically for Thursday Night Football games. Fans will also be able to click up to get football stats, learn more about the plays in the game, and find information on the teams on field.