Amazon Prime has its eye on a new goal: U.K. soccer fans
Amazon Prime wants to be the go-to destination for U.K. soccer fans, or for starters, Manchester City supporters. The premier league club has just signed a $13 million (£10m ) deal with Amazon Prime for a behind-the-scenes television series following the club and its beloved coach, Pep Guardiola, through the 2017-18 soccer (er, football) season. The series will be available to Prime members sometime in 2018, according to the BBC.
“This new Amazon Prime Original series will give Prime members extraordinary insight into Manchester City, the top English Premier League Football team and one of the most exciting and respected teams globally,” Heather Schuster, head of unscripted at Amazon Originals, said in a statement.
Per Bloomberg, Amazon’s interest in premier league soccer is fueling speculation that it might vie for the rights to air the matches, going up against Sky Plc and BT Group Plc in an auction next year. The BBC quotes Manchester United chief Ed Woodward, though, who said that he expects Facebook and Amazon to “enter the mix” when the Premier League TV rights are negotiated later this year.
If Amazon (or Facebook) won the rights to air premier league matches, it could be huge for fans around the world who may not have access to the games. That could mean no longer having to trek to soccer bars at odd hours of the night to watch a match or ponying up for pricey cable packages to see your team lose (looking at you, Chelsea).
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