Yahoo Finance Amazon bids for 22 sports networks owned by Disney, report says
Amazon has reportedly submitted bids to buy nearly two-dozen sports networks from Disney - a move that would help the technology and E-commerce giant expand its footprint in coverage of the sporting world.
Disney is being forced to sell off a slew of networks, among them the YES Network, which broadcasts New York Yankees games, as part of its deal $71.3bn deal with Twenty-First Century Fox.
CNBC said Amazon was among several organisations that had submitted bids for 22 networks, that show a variety of professional leagues, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.
It said other bidders included KKR, Sinclair Broadcasting Group and the Blackstone Group. The streamlined Fox, which includes Fox Business, Fox News and Fox Sports, could emerge as a bidder when second-round bids are submitted later this year, it said.
Disney, which is buying Twenty-First Century Fox Inc’s film and television assets, has said it would divest 22 of Fox’s regional sports networks as part of its agreement with the US Department of Justice. Reuters said sources had suggested the networks up for sale could be worth as much as $20bn.
It said if Amazon clinched the deal, it would pay a higher price than the $13.7bn the retail giant paid to buy Whole Foods Co last year.
It said Amazon had moved aggressively into television to bolster its Prime membership service, which offers free delivery and content for a flat monthly fee. Its bid for the sports assets underlines its ambition to take on traditional pay-TV broadcasters in one of their most reliable sources of revenue.
“I’ve always viewed Amazon’s video strategy as having three elements to it – Prime Instant Video, the Channels business and live ad-supported TV,” Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell told the news agency.
“The latter is the least built-out, but the RSNs (regional sports networks) would fit well in terms of establishing this part of the offering.”
It said Amazon already has the rights to air 20 English Premier League soccer matches, giving its Prime Video online streaming service a foothold in the most-watched sports league in the world. It also has rights to America’s National Football League and National Hockey League.
Reuters added that sports leagues were anticipating big tech companies will bid aggressively when rights come up for renewal in the next few years. Facebook and Twitter already stream live sports events.
A spokeswoman for Amazon, Angie Quennell, told The Independent it would not comment on the report.
