• Amazon's VP of global sports video spoke Wednesday on "The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast."
• The exec described how "Thursday Night Football" is attracting a younger demographic to the NFL.
• She also said Amazon is targeting deals with more "marquee sports partners," like the NBA.

Amazon's VP of global sports video Marie Donoghue, riding a strong start to the streamer's "Thursday Night Football" deal with the NFL, spoke glowingly about aggressive plans to expand the company's sports programming to include more major leagues like the NBA and NCAA.

Donoghue spoke on Wednesday with "The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media" podcast at Sports Business Journal's World Congress of Sports, where she said that Amazon Prime Video views itself as an "insurgent" in sports broadcasting.

Amazon has seen strong early returns on its $1 billion-per-year rights deal with the NFL, as its September 15 TNF debut averaged more than 13 million viewers. It preceded two straight weeks of Thursday night games with more than 11 million viewers, before viewership fell to 9.7 million during the touchdown-less October 6 game between the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts.

Donoghue said she thinks the NFL is "happy" with the numbers from Amazon so far, in part due to the streamer's ability to bring in a younger audience.

Viewership during the first four weeks of Amazon's Thursday night games this season is up 67% among 18- to 34-year-olds, compared with last year's tricast that involved a Fox broadcast in addition to streaming on Prime Video and Twitch, according to Donoghue. (Amazon now has the exclusive rights to TNF as part of a 10-year deal.)

Donoghue also said the NFL's viewers on Amazon are eight years younger on average than the league's TV audience. That's key for the NFL, which is actively targeting younger demographics as seen through its recent Nickelodeon-themed broadcasts and partnerships with platforms like TikTok.

"[The NFL] came to us largely because we were innovating, and they also wanted us to reach new audiences," Donoghue said. "When we were getting ready to launch 'Thursday Night Football,' we kept that in the back of their mind. So it's no surprise to us that we're getting credit for being innovative, that we're driving a younger audience."

Amazon VP of global sports video Marie Donoghue. Amazon

Donoghue has her sights set on other major sports rights like NBA games

The Amazon exec said that the TNF numbers make her "confident" that Amazon could land the rights to an NFL playoff game "in the future."

While the TNF deal is Amazon's biggest splash in sports yet, it also has broadcasting deals with the New York Yankees and Seattle Storm. Across the pond, Amazon streams Champions League matches in Italy and Germany and the English Premier League in India.

But Amazon wants to grow a lot more in sports. Donoghue said the streamer will continue to target "marquee sports partnerships" around the globe in both professional and amateur ranks in the hope of making Prime a go-to destination for sports fans.

She mentioned interest in college sports and the NBA, whose current rights deals with Disney and TNT expire after the 2024-25 season.

"It would be excellent to have Thursday night leading to Friday, maybe Saturday," Donoghue said. "We're very interested in big-time college sports ... We're really interested in the NBA. Obviously, we'd love to do more business with the NFL, with baseball."