Amazon plans aggressive push for sports rights
Live rights to major sports leagues are a guarantee of success for streaming providers. This not only attracts subscribers, but ultimately also advertising customers. Amazon wants to take the next big step on the US market.
Amazon is reportedly in talks to invest in the largest regional sports program provider in the USA, Diamond Sports. This would further advance the e-commerce group's aggressive push into the sports content sector, where it is competing with streaming rivals such as Disney and Netflix.
Diamond Sports Group, which broadcasts games from more than 40 major US sports teams and filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, is actively negotiating a strategic investment and multi-year streaming partnership with Amazon, people familiar with the matter said. Should an agreement be reached, Amazon's Prime streaming platform would also become the platform for Diamond games. An agreement should also help Diamond to avert liquidation.
Diamond owns the local rights to about half of the teams in Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association and about a third of the teams in the National Hockey League. The company would continue to operate its cable networks through its existing partnerships. It is not known how much Amazon plans to invest or at what price.
Diamond has received support from a select group of creditors to continue discussions. Any transaction is subject to bankruptcy court approval and could still fail. Diamond's business model has been shaken by the elimination of cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services. The sports network operator is struggling with a decline in subscriber numbers, which is also having a negative impact on its advertising revenues.
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Source: www.ntv.de
