Amazon and ATP Media join forces on tennis streaming rights.
Amazon has secured live and on-demand distribution rights to stream ATP World Tour events in the U.K. and Ireland for five years starting in 2019.
Amazon Prime subscribers will have access to 37 ATP World Tour events on Prime Video from 2019 to 2023, including all ATP World Tour Masters 1000s, 12 of each of the 500s and 250s and the Next Gen ATP Finals, according to joint press release from ATP and Amazon.
The deal, which is exclusive to Amazon with the exception of ATP Media’s direct-to-consumer streaming service Tennis TV, will include access to completed matches, highlights, tournament review shows, press conferences and additional original content.
Amazon will additionally become ATP’s exclusive third-party pay-TV partner for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, taking place this week in London, as well as the Queen’s Club Championships and Eastbourne International starting in 2018.
Executives from ATP hailed the Amazon deal as monumental for the sport of tennis, with ATP Executive Chairman & President Chris Kermode calling it “a pivotal moment” that expands ATP’s digital presence.
“The move from traditional linear TV to an OTT offering shows tennis remains at the cutting-edge of global sports media,” ATP Media CEO Mark Webster said in the statement.
The companies also announced that Tennis TV will become available to U.S.-based Amazon Prime members beginning in 2018, opening up access to more than 2,000 live matches from the ATP World Tour.
Both of these deals mark an expansion from Amazon’s announcement in September that it secured the worldwide streaming rights (minus China), and the full exclusive video rights in the U.S. (outside of Tennis TV) to distribute the Next Gen ATP Finals through 2018. It showcased that earlier this month when it streamed all 16 Next Gen ATP Finals matches during the inaugural men’s 21-and-under competition.
On Wednesday, Eurosport announced that it secured rights to broadcast the US Open across Europe for an additional five years through 2022. However, its deal excluded the U.K. and Ireland, where Eurosport has historically sub-licensed the rights.
