The English Premier League awarded Amazon with TV rights to three of its seasons, starting with the 2019/20 edition of the world’s most popular football/soccer league. The Seattle, Washington-based company acquired the association’s Package F through its subsidiary Amazon Prime Video, having purchased the rights to broadcast live games via its streaming service. The package includes 20 matches per season from one mid-week fixture programme and another Bank Holiday. Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore said Amazon is “an exciting new partner” for the association, having subsequently announced he will be stepping down from his position in late 2018.
No financial details of the deal have been provided by either party, though Amazon is believed to be planning to continue bidding for Premier League rights beyond the 2021/22 season. The e-commerce giant has been eyeing the league for years now, according to previous reports, having already invested in it by agreeing to make an exclusive Manchester City documentary late last year. Acquiring rights to high-profile sports competitions is part of Amazon’s strategy to generate more Prime Video subscribers and in turn grow its Prime platform which surpassed 100 million users this April. The firm’s internal data shows that Prime subscribers spend much more money on Amazon.com purchases than other users, so purchasing rights to stream popular sports should be immediately beneficial to the company’s bottom line, as repeatedly claimed by industry insiders.
Amazon as a whole continues to grow at a rapid pace, having managed to maintain its momentum throughout its history even as it’s now set to enter the 25th year of its existence next month. Its Q1 2018 report showed growth nearly across the board, with the firm posting $51 billion in revenue, up 43-percent year-on-year. Amazon increased the price of its monthly Prime subscription to $12.99 from $10.99 this January, though the annual fee remains the same, amounting to $99. Besides Prime Video, the package comes with a wide variety of other benefits, including exclusive discounts and fast shipping of select products free of charge.