Amazon has surprisingly swooped in to pick up the exclusive local streaming rights to one of the most popular teams in MLS. The three-year deal, which will be studied by every league and team that has their media deals coming up, will have Amazon make every Sounders game that’s not on national television available to Prime subscribers throughout Washington state; the games still will be available on local television via KCPQ-Fox in Seattle.
The two sides would not comment on the value of the deal, which kicks off next week with the Aug. 26 game against the Galaxy. FS1 will carry the Sounders next game Aug. 23 against the Timbers. YouTube TV had held the team’s streaming rights since '18 as part of a two-year deal that ended toward the end of '19.
This deal marks the second local sports streaming deal signed by Amazon, alongside a deal to stream Yankees games this season. Amazon VP/Global Sports Video Marie Donoghue cited the popularity of the Sounders in Washington as a reason for doing the deal. “We’re not one-size-fits-all,” she said. “We look at sports locally, whether that is DMA or country. We look at things opportunistically. It’s not that complicated. Can we drive value for our Prime members?”
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