Amazon Prime Video has secured the rights to stream live Premier League football matches for three years from 2019, at no extra cost to Prime members who live in the U.K.
The exclusive deal, announced on Thursday, means that from next year Amazon Prime will show every game from the first round of midweek matches in December and all 10 games on Boxing Day, with weekly highlights of all Premier League matches throughout the season.
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The Premier League is the most-watched sports league in the world, and from the 2019/20 season UK Prime members will have exclusive access to watch 20 matches per season, comprising two full fixture rounds – the first December midweek round and the festive Bank Holiday round - featuring live coverage of every Premier League team.
The deal marks the first time a full round of matches will be shown live in the U.K., and while it leaves out the more lucrative weekend games, it shows a big statement from the company, which already broadcasts tennis events like the U.S. Open and ATP World Tour, and NFL games on Amazon Prime Video.
Previously, Sky and BT Sport have shared the rights to the EPL, following an auction in 2015 that saw the broadcasters splash £5.1 billion ($6.9 billion) between them for three seasons. Earlier this year, the Premier League announced that it had sold five out of seven of its U.K. TV packages. BT Sport bought one bundle amounting to 32 games and Sky acquired four bundles, securing 128 matches. BT Sport also secured the last other 20-game TV package, the Premier League confirmed today.
The Premier League remains Europe's most prized live sports broadcast asset and with a growing audience in the U.S., fits in perfectly with Amazon's broader strategy to bring more sports content to its global customers, draw more people to its U.K. Prime membership service, and convert occasional customers into more loyal shoppers. An Amazon Prime membership in the U.K. costs £79 a year or £7.99 a month.
Top Rated Comments
They gave it free to customers - followed by a hefty price rise. So those consumers like myself who have no interest in watching a dull sport played by overpaid princesses subsidise the cost for attracting sports fans from Sky. I have zero interest in funding this. Also one of the reasons I quit Virgin TV and saved a fortune.
Cut the TV and landline, kept the awesome internet and saved £63/m then just hooked the TV’s up to an old Sky dish to recieve the channels we actually watch for free.
Can’t they keep this as an add on rather than the inevitable price rise of Prime?
You’re a fool if you think this is free.
While it’s our national game, there’s a reason many can’t be bothered with following the PL anymore, either preferring to follow the often more interesting to watch lower leagues, or none at all quite frankly. On top of that, there’s simply too much football on every week to keep up with it all.
I’ll watch the World Cup this month, and likely other big competitions like the Euros. But further than that, not really. There’s more to life, than the (not quite as) beautiful game.