Amazon has "nabbed the U.K. rights to the ATP World Tour from Sky," according to Mark Sweney of the GUARDIAN. The Amazon Prime Video service will become the "home for practically all top-flight men’s tennis other than the four grand slam tournaments -- including the end of year ATP World Tour finals at the O2 Arena in London." Amazon's bid is "thought to be as much" as $13M a year (all figures U.S.). Sky's five-year contract ends in '18, and the broadcaster is "understood to have paid" about $11M annually for its current deal. Sky is "not thought to have matched the amount it bid last time." This is Amazon’s "first major live TV sports rights deal outside the U.S." (THEGUARDIAN.com, 8/1). In London, Ben Rumsby reported the contract also gives Amazon the rights to the Masters 1000 and Masters 500 tournaments from around the world, "including those in Monte Carlo, Madrid, Paris, Miami, Indian Wells and Shanghai" (London TELEGRAPH, 8/1).
NO LOOKING BACK: AXIOS' Sara Fischer noted Amazon is "moving into every sector from groceries to health care, but it's clear that dominating the media business is also a priority." Not only is Amazon "competing against digital media companies for ad revenue -- they're challenging Hollywood studios for box office dominance, gobbling video distribution deals from cable companies, and launching social media and messaging networks to compete with the other major tech platforms." And Amazon's strategic investments to make money in these areas "show no sign of slowing down." Prime is "becoming a key destination for video distribution," as cable subscriptions "dwindle." It is "landing major live-streaming deals" such as the $50M "TNF" streaming deal with the NFL, and is "offering resources, and in some cases money, to video publishers to distribute video." BTIG media analyst Rich Greenfield said, "Think about 2021 when the NFL's Monday Night Football contract expires. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't believe anymore that Amazon Prime in the U.S. won't have more subscribers than ESPN." Prime "currently has 79 million U.S. subscribers while ESPN has 88 million." Greenfield: "So if Amazon wants Monday Night Football, it's theirs for the taking" (AXIOS.com, 8/1).
