The UK broadcast rights for the Premier League go up for auction in February, and Amazon are reportedly ready to make it their largest sporting deal to date.
There has been growing speculation that both Amazon and Facebook are poised to enter the mix and take on the traditional broadcasters of Sky and BT, but it appears that Amazon are keen to make the first move. The digital powerhouse are expected to bid for one of the smaller packages (20 and 32 matches) in the upcoming auction for Premier League live rights for broadcast in the UK.
If Amazon are successful in their bid, the deal would be their largest sporting deal to date, larger than their Thursday night NFL package and ATP Tennis rights. The last time the rights were up for auction in 2015, Sky and BT cleaned up by spending a combined £5.1bn to cover 168 live games.
Should Amazon stump up the cash to dislodge one of BT or Sky's packages they will likely only be able to stream the games in the UK – there are separate auctions for international Premier League rights.
If Amazon were to add the Premier League to their growing repertoire then their Prime service that offers video and music content as well as free delivery, for £79 a year ain't looking too bad at all in comparison to Sky and BT.
