Amazon is developing a stand-alone app for watching sports, according to a report from the Information.
While still in its early phases, it’s said that the firm wants to promote its content for football, baseball, and soccer and separate it from the movies and shows that are available on its Prime Video service.
The report is being released at the same time Andy Jassy, the Amazon CEO, recently mentioned live sports as “a unique asset” in which Amazon will keep investing.
Amazon now has sole rights to Yankees baseball games, Thursday Night Football in the NFL, and some Premier League soccer events. The app’s release date and whether Amazon would charge extra for access to its sports content are both unknown.
There’s no date for when Amazon intends to launch the separate sports app, and there isn’t much more detail in the leak, and this project is still in its very early phases.
It’s unclear whether this change would be made as part of the service completely dividing its sporting services into a new streaming service with a subscription dedicated to sports or whether it would be for users who want to watch games independently from the main app.
Amazon’s Focus on Sports
According to some rumors, Amazon intends to purchase the streaming rights to a few additional league-based sports, including some cricket league events and several FIA-run events, including Formula 1 and 2, and Formula E.
Amazon is thought to pay roughly $1 billion per year for the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package, and Google is said to have agreed to pay between $2.1 and $2.2 billion for the league’s Sunday Ticket package.
Meanwhile, Amazon has been taking steps to reduce costs in other areas. According to Reuters, the firm has laid off some employees and is examining unprofitable business segments as inflation causes people to spend less.
The fact that Amazon wants to create a stand-alone sports app shows that the company is looking for additional revenue streams for its live sports investments.
Given the high expense of streaming rights, it wouldn’t be shocking if the company intended to charge a separate subscription price for sports programming with this new app.
Competitor’s Moves
Although it’s difficult to predict what will come of Amazon’s initiative, one thing to keep in mind is that its competitors are heavily involved in sports media.
Major corporations like Apple, Google, and Netflix are looking for good possibilities in the gaming sector.
Last week, YouTube reportedly agreed to spend $2.1-2.2 billion to acquire the NFL Sunday Ticket package’s rights, paying an estimated $2 billion annually for the rights to the programming.
Starting in 2023, the program will be available on YouTube and YouTube TV.
Earlier this year, Apple also signed an agreement with Major League Baseball to allow customers to enjoy Friday night games live. Moreover, the business signed a $2.5 billion agreement with Major League Soccer to broadcast soccer events for the next decade.
While the content will be a big draw, the business is searching for other ways to monetize it, such as expanding its ad business.
However, original content used to be the biggest attraction for streaming services, sporting events, and associated content appears to take center stage in the coming years.