Amazon grabbed the audience’s attention with a sizzle reel about its live streaming deal with the NFL to start discussion about the retail and entertainment giant’s foray into live NFL games. Speaking during Day 1 of the ’17 NeuLion Sports Media & Technology conference, Amazon Head of Sports Jim DeLorenzo and NFL Senior VP/Digital Media Business Development Vishal Shah talked about teaming up for the games and where the partnership might lead. Shah fielded the opening question on why the NFL selected Amazon over incumbent Twitter and other digital platforms. He acknowledged the league is trying to reach new, younger audiences across mobile and living room devices. Amazon Prime is available on 600-plus devices globally, as both execs noted several times during the discussion. Shah said Amazon "reaches younger demographics" across mobile, tablets and connected TVs. Shah: "They bring a tremendous, scaled platform with Amazon Prime Video and a global audience. The differentiation factor for Amazon, relative to other streaming platforms, (is that Amazon) offers other products besides video. ... People use it to watch mid- to longer-form content. The distribution across a broader set of devices is there.”
THIS IS NOT A TEST: Shah said he does not consider the Thursday night package to be a guinea pig, but that it clearly is the place where the league tends to experiment. “Live streaming at the scale of NFL games is not easy,” he said. “It’s a testament to Jim’s team to scale games with the digital infrastructure in place. We want to see which (digital platforms) will bring unique experiences. Hats off to Twitter, (last year’s streaming platform), with its Tweet stream and other content in and around the game.” DeLorenzo said his sports unit, like its parent company, “starts with the customer and works backwards from there." He said, "The NFL is obviously content that has high demand, not just in the U.S., but globally. It made sense as one of our first steps (in sports streaming), since the NFL offering the package on global basis was meaningful for us.”
BIDDING FOR MORE PRIME TIME? Will Amazon and other tech companies bid for the NFL’s rights in '22? DeLorenzo would not tip his hand and Shah said the league will assess the “readiness of the use sets of bidders." Shah: "Our TV partners do a great job of producing the game and delivering it to audiences. We think the best days are ahead despite the changing landscape.” He added, “The production element is not a minor one. The ability to produce the games is one that is a core competency differentiator for TV networks.” But he conceded, “It’s a skill set and can be acquired with enough reps -- but our TV partners do a great job.”
GAME ON: Asked how they watch the Thursday night games, both execs said that in the office they have an array of devices displaying the streams and broadcasts. But at home, DeLorenzo watches via Fire TV and Shah opts for “the biggest screen available.”
