According to a source with firsthand knowledge of the project, Amazon is developing a stand-alone app for streaming sports material, the Information stated on Wednesday.
Amazon Inc. is planning to create a standalone streaming platform that is exclusively focused on sports after experiencing tremendous success in the video streaming sector.
One of the main draws for cable TV consumers who are switching to streaming platforms in sports. This explains why there is fierce competition among streaming services for the sports streaming market. As more Americans migrate from pay TV memberships to streaming apps, sports continue to be one of the tops draws for live viewing.
The action will probably go hand in hand with Amazon’s efforts to increase its focus on sports content via its Prime Video service, a crucial avenue for luring customers to its e-commerce platform.
At the moment, sports coverage is covered by an Amazon Prime Video subscription, which costs $14.99 USD each month. According to the source, Amazon would either keep offering the same package price or start charging customers a separate monthly subscription to receive sports content.
The business last year successfully negotiated an 11-year contract for the only media rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” which will start in 2023.
In order to better compete with the leader in sports streaming, Walt Disney Co., Amazon already has the rights to stream events like the National Football League’s Thursday Night Football franchise and Premier League soccer matches in the UK.
A multi-year agreement to exclusively stream the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package of events in the United States was also signed last week by YouTube, a division of Alphabet Inc.
According to the article, it was unclear when Amazon would launch the sports app or if it would proceed with the plan. To meet growing costs and a decline in demand as individuals and businesses cut down on spending due to inflation anxiety, the corporation has been examining unproductive business segments and has laid off some employees.
The development of a stand-alone sports app by Amazon suggests that the business is looking to explore new avenues for monetizing its live sports investments.
It wouldn’t be shocking if the firm intended to charge a separate membership price for sports coverage with this separate app given the high costs of streaming rights.
Additionally, Amazon can choose to provide a different subscription tier with access to its sports content.
Since other tech behemoths have also signed sports streaming agreements, Amazon isn’t the only significant corporation seeking to maintain its investment in live sports programming.
In a historic streaming deal last week, Google’s YouTube acquired the NFL Sunday Ticket. The rights to Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games, on the other hand, have been acquired by Apple.
Walt Disney Co. currently dominates the sports streaming business, but once Amazon enters the space with its resources, we should expect some fierce competition.
I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.