Sources said that Amazon.com Inc. "is pursuing video rights to a wide range of sports, including the French Open tennis championship and professional rugby, as the company looks for ways to draw new customers to its online TV service," according to Lucas Shaw of BLOOMBERG. The sources, who took part in talks, said that the world’s largest online retailer "expressed interest in sports with global appeal," such as tennis, golf, football and auto racing. Amazon "is also interested in popular U.S. sports, such as basketball and baseball, though most rights are unavailable for the foreseeable future." With live sports, Amazon "could offer programming viewers can’t get from rivals like Netflix, and erode the traditional media companies’ hold on some of the most valuable TV fare." Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon, using the acronym for multiple-system operator, an industry term for cable and satellite companies, said, "Amazon has been leaning forward on sports. They want to be a new age MSO." Solomon said that "his network, which is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc., has had broad discussions with Amazon for more than a year." While the progress of the talks is not clear, sources said that Amazon "wants to make a big splash in sports." Amazon hired former Sports Illustrated Exec James DeLorenzo "to oversee its sports division earlier this year" (BLOOMBERG, 9/9).
