Amazon purchase Premier League broadcast rights from 2019

  07 June 2018    Read: 1462
Amazon purchase Premier League broadcast rights from 2019

Premier League games will be streamed on Amazon from the 2019/20 season after the US tech giant purchased one of the remaining rights packages, the Independent reported.

Sky Sports and BT Sport will continue to broadcast games after buying the rights to 160 matches for almost £4.5bn earlier this year, but they will do so alongside Amazon, who will show 20 matches per season.

They have moved to secure one of the two remaining packages with BT buying up the other. From August 2019 they will now show 52 games per season with Sky 128.

A statement read: "Every Premier League club will be featured across two full rounds of 20 matches per season, including Bank Holiday fixtures, plus weekly highlights throughout the season."

The landmark move is the first time a full round of Premier League fixtures will be shown in the UK.

It's also the first time that packages of livestreaming games have been offered and it is understood that the growing audience in the US has persuaded Amazon to take the plunge.

The company confirmed the move will come wat no extra cost to existing Prime Video users but for those not already subscribed it will see a further increase in the cost of watching football drawing an understandably mixed response from fans.

Facebook were understood to be interested in one of the packages but it is Amazon who was won through breaking the stranglehold held by Sky and BT.

The move continues Amazon's diversification into sport following the multi-million dollar decision in April to buy up the UK rights to show US Open tennis.

The announcement came at the Premier League's annual meeting on Thursday which also saw clubs agree for the first time to distribute some foreign television revenue based on where a team finishes from 2019.


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