Here's Why Amazon's NFL Games Don't Have Beer Ads

When tuning in to watch Thursday Night Football on Amazon this season, NFL fans may notice something different about the experience compared to traditional television… and not just that they have to sign in to their Amazon Prime account. Amazon reportedly won't be airing any beer commercials – or ads for alcohol in general – because the company doesn't allow them.

As Bloomberg reported yesterday, Amazon's official advertising guidelines for the United States prohibit the promotion of beer, wine, and spirits. "Ad content must not encourage, glamorize or depict excessive consumption of alcohol," the guidelines reportedly state.

By comparison, beer brands alone have reportedly spent over $40 million on commercials during other televised NFL games during the first two weeks of the season, an amount representing about 70 percent of their total TV spending during that period. "[It's] hard to find an example of an NFL game without advertising from that category," Jason Damata, a spokesman for iSpot.tv, which tracks this kind of data, told Bloomberg.

And, in fact, football and booze are so intertwined that, despite Amazon's advertising policy, viewers may still catch the occasional beer ad during a game. Apparently, some of Amazon's ad time is ceded to the NFL who, in theory, could air spots for companies like the NFL's official beer sponsor, Anheuser-Busch InBev.

This Thursday Night Football revelation also shines some light on Amazon's alcohol advertising guidelines overall, which is something Amazon shoppers probably don't often think about. Amazon actually only prohibits alcohol ads in six countries: Canada, Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates. Additionally, in the U.S., Amazon also has restrictions prohibiting alcohol producers or distributors from sponsoring alcohol merchandise.

That said, just because Amazon prohibits alcohol ads doesn't mean all Amazon ads will be devoid of alcohol. As the guidelines further explain, "Please note that this policy does not cover alcohol content featured in non-alcohol ads (for example, a film trailer starring actors consuming alcohol)." Likewise, viewers watching NFL games on Amazon will also inevitably see fans drinking beers in the stadium.