F1 is in talks to put its OTT channel on Amazon Prime.getty images
Formula 1 is in talks to launch the F1 TV channel on Amazon Prime, which "could potentially open it up to more than 100 million subscribers over time," according to Seb Joseph of DIGIDAY. The service would be made available to Prime subscribers in countries where the local broadcaster has "given up its exclusive rights under new or renegotiated deals." F1 Head of Global Sponsorship & Commercial Murray Barnett said that the partnership would not, for example, be available in the U.K., where the sport has an exclusive deal with Sky, but "could work in the U.S." He said, "It makes sense for us to be on there [Amazon Prime] because it's an open platform and we're already in discussions with them about distribution in the future. In the U.S., we have an agreement with ESPN that allows us to exploit our own OTT service separately so we'll definitely be on Amazon Prime [there]." Negotiations between F1 and Amazon will "likely mirror" those Amazon had with Eurosport's execs, who agreed to put the broadcaster's player on Prime Video (DIGIDAY, 7/6).
