The long in-the-works deal sheds insight into Amazon's video strategy. The company is after more viewers in the United Kingdom, one of its most important retail markets. Amazon also is aiming to build its lineup of sports shows and ultimately be a destination for streaming live sports, too.
The world's largest online retailer sees original video as a way to attract new members to its Prime shopping club and to sell more products in turn.
"Sports inherently breeds a lot of loyalty. That’s part of the crux of Prime: get people signed up," said Paul Verna, analyst at research firm eMarketer. "The English Premier League is extremely popular throughout Europe and more and more in the U.S. as well."
Amazon live-streamed tennis for the first time this week at the inaugural Next Gen ATP finals in Milan, Italy. In September, it started streaming 'Thursday Night Football' games for the U.S. National Football League (NFL), and its show 'All or Nothing' has followed other sports teams behind the scenes.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Sports shows will help Amazon reach a broader demographic and potentially sell more sports merchandise, too, said Alan Wolk, analyst for TV industry publication TV[R]EV.
Amazon and Facebook Inc could potentially enter the bidding when the next English Premier League rights deal is announced. Facebook failed with a $600 million bid for the streaming rights to the popular domestic Indian cricket league, IPL, in September.
(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengalurum and Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Diane Craft)
