Amazon has made significant strides in the sports streaming world since Charlie Neiman joined the company in 2016 when it had never streamed a live event. Now, Amazon has become a leader in sports streaming by investing billions of dollars in buying expensive sports media rights and building cloud computing infrastructure to stream games for Prime members globally. The company is aiming to attract additional Prime membership sign-ups and generate new revenue for its advertising business through live sports, which remains one of the most-watched telecasts. The CEO of Amazon has expressed the company’s commitment to expanding its sports offerings as more people shift away from traditional cable providers.
Amazon’s investments in live sports are part of its broader strategy to build the next generation of an entertainment service that goes beyond on-demand movies and TV shows. The company is reportedly expanding into live news and has secured exclusive deals for streaming various sports leagues, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, UEFA, Champion’s League, NWSL, PBC, and more. Amazon has differentiated itself in the sports streaming space by leveraging its technical capabilities through Amazon Web Services and implementing unique advertising opportunities that allow brands to tailor ads to specific customer segments based on data on over 200 million Prime members.
Amazon has introduced unique features like “Prime Vision” for its Thursday Night Football streams, offering alternative viewing options with overlays powered by machine learning and RFID chips embedded on players. This allows viewers to have a more interactive and predictive experience during the game. The company is focused on experimenting with new broadcast experiences to cater to different segments of fans who may want more in-depth insights, advanced stats, alternate streams, or AI integrations. Amazon’s digital-first approach to streaming sports gives them the flexibility to push the envelope on consumer viewing experiences during games and commercial breaks, with a focus on continuous innovation in the sports streaming space.
Amazon’s exclusive NFL deal, worth a reported $10 billion over 10 years, is a cornerstone of its live sports content, with viewership for this season’s Thursday Night Football games showing a 20% year-over-year increase. The company’s upcoming ventures into streaming NHL, NBA, and NASCAR games, among others, further solidify its position as a key player in the sports streaming landscape. Amazon’s ability to provide diverse sports content to a global audience is further enhanced by its technical capabilities and unique advertising offerings, leading to an increase in advertisers for NFL programming through Amazon. This expansion into live sports is seen as part of a wider strategy by Amazon to innovate and provide value to sports fans through a digital-first, experimental approach to sports streaming.
