Amazon has emerged as a new player in the ever-competitive sports rights market, Bloomberg has reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.The online retailer turned streamer is said to be seeking the rights to a wide range of sports with international appeal. These include the French Open Tennis championships and rugby, alongside US-centric sports including basketball and baseball.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon has stressed the importance of its Amazon Prime service, which already has a number of original dramas and The Grand Tour, a motoring show featuring the former presenters of the BBC’s Top Gear. It is available to those paying for its Amazon Prime speedy delivery service.
At IBC 2016 the talk remains of Netflix integrations, rather than those of Amazon Prime Video. However, talk of Netflix entering the game is absent.
Amazon is joining a long list of companies seeking sport to drive their business.
Earlier this year a football match from Spain’s women’s La Liga is to become the first competitive football match to be streamed over Facebook. Twitter is also seeking an involvement in live sports.
