Amazon is in the sports broadcasting business for "the long-term," according to one of its top European execs, who hinted at further deals to come but said that the U.S. streaming giant was adopting a "humble approach." Amazon Prime Video European Managing Dir Alex Green said, "There is more to come from Amazon, full stop. We are in it for the long-term, that’s for sure. We just get our heads down and try and do the best possible job. We are quite humble about it. Amazon may be a big name but in sports broadcasting we are not. Let’s face it."
Green was being interviewed at Wednesday's Leaders Sport Business Summit in London.
The interview took place just months after Amazon broadcast the US Open to U.K. tennis fans -- its first exclusive broadcast of a sports event. Amazon paid $40M in a five-year deal for the rights.
But the company was hit by complaints about the sound and picture quality of its streaming coverage while viewers also grumbled about their inability to record matches.
However, Green said that Amazon’s coverage had been a success, though he did not offer viewing figures for the tournament. "Overall, we were pleased with how it went," he said. "We think the live coverage went well. Our audience numbers were very strong." While not addressing criticism of its coverage directly, Green did admit that "tennis fans are very vocal" and said that Amazon responded by making changes to its coverage during the tournament.
As well as the US Open, Amazon also has inked broadcasting deals with the NFL and Premier League in addition to a deal with Discovery to show premium sporting events in Germany and Austria, including the Winter Olympics and the Bundesliga.
Green hinted that similar deals to the Discovery one could be made.
He said, "We don’t have to have our own thing. We can offer it through third-party channels. We can apply these different models to keep expanding the selections."
Green was asked about Amazon’s forthcoming coverage of the Premier League, which begins in '19, but remained tight-lipped about its plans, including its presenting lineup.
Amazon will show 20 Premier League matches a season for three years. The matches are free to Amazon Prime’s U.K. members. Green: "We were thrilled to end up with what we have ended up with. It's an interesting package of rights. We know the power of the Premier League. Tennis is one thing. The Premier League here [in the U.K.] is a completely different level."
WOMEN'S VIEW: In London, Martin Lipton reported Green said that Amazon could use "all-female commentary teams" in its Premier League coverage next year. Green: “As part of the Thursday night football coverage we take the core Fox feed with their own commentary team. But we decided to offer viewers an alternative commentary team with an all-female commentary team, Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer, very well-respected NFL journalists in the U.S. That has proved really popular. It has gone down very well and people have really appreciated having the choice. ... The Premier League does appeal across the gender divide and we are conscious of that. That will be reflected in how we deliver" (THE SUN, 10/10).
