Yahoo Finance Premier League on Amazon Prime Video: When is it on? Who is playing? And could its days be numbered?
It’s that time of year again when football fans scroll through the Sky Sports and TNT listings in search of the live Premier League action, only to realise it’s on Amazon Prime Video instead.
As in previous seasons, Prime Video will be the only place for UK viewers to – legally, at any rate – watch two complete midweek rounds of top-flight matches, starting this Tuesday.
This year they also have Jeff Stelling helming some of their coverage in the former Sky Sports stalwart’s return to TV after quitting as anchor of Soccer Saturday in the summer.
But what is Amazon’s strategy? Why does one of the world’s largest companies have such a small selection of games? And is it set to give them up in the next sale process?
Which Premier League games are on Amazon Prime Video and when?
Prime Video’s two rounds of fixtures – the only rounds in which all 10 games are broadcast in the UK – take place this week and in the week between Christmas and New Year.
Both rounds are spread over three days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – and feature staggered kick-off times to maximise the viewing opportunities.
This week’s highlights see leaders Arsenal visiting Luton Town on Tuesday, six matches on Wednesday including Aston Villa-Manchester City and Manchester United-Chelsea, and a derby between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United on Thursday.
In addition, Stelling will present a goals show, Every Game Every Goal – a sort of Soccer Saturday but with the scoring action – on Wednesday evening.
Prime Video’s Christmas week Premier League coverage begins on Boxing Day with five games in four back-to-back slots, meaning viewers can watch non-stop from 12:30pm to 10pm.
Further fixtures on Wednesday 27 December, including Everton-Manchester City, and Thursday 28, among them Arsenal-West Ham, complete the programme.
Why did Amazon buy Premier League rights and has it worked?
Amazon bought its first package of Premier League rights, for the 2019-22 cycle, as a way of driving and retaining subscriptions to its Prime service.
The December timing of the fixtures is no coincidence, coming as it does in a key period for its retail operations around the Black Friday and Christmas shopping frenzies.
Amazon renewed its deal for the 2022-25 cycle and it has proven a highly cost-effective way into the Premier League rights market, at a reported £30m per year – or £1.5m per game.
Sky Sports and TNT Sports, who hold the two biggest packages of matches, pay far more, at around £9m and £8m per game respectively.
“The current set of rights suits Amazon to a tee,” media and telco analyst Paolo Pescatore of PP Foresight told City A.M. “For Amazon, the focus is on driving value for Prime subscribers. Amazon has been steadily increasing its coverage of sport, driving people towards Prime.
“The financials underpinning the current set of Premier League TV rights are significantly different compared to its other sports rights. Furthermore, Amazon’s current set of Premier League TV rights fits nicely around bundles and packages around the key Christmas trading period. It’s a win-win scenario for Amazon in driving further value among customers.”
Will Amazon buy more Premier League TV rights?
Amazon has its current rights for next season too, but there are two reasons why it may give up its Premier League package after 2024-25.
Firstly, the Premier League is reported to be bundling the rights differently. It is said to want to sell several complete midweek rounds plus a tranche of Sunday games that currently go unbroadcast in the UK all as one package.
This substantially larger package could fetch as much as £300m per season, according to reports – 10 times what Amazon pay now.
Affordability is not the issue for a company with revenue of more than $500bn, but value might be. Sports-only streaming service Dazn has been mooted as a likely bidder.
Secondly, Amazon has already secured alternative live football rights in the UK from next season. Prime Video will show 17 Tuesday night games in the Champions League as it expands and adopts a new format. TNT Sports will retain the other matches.
It means that next year “could well be the last time Amazon will be delivering Premier League over the Christmas period”, added Pescatore.
“The tech giant will now have to fork out millions more to secure a basic package. For this reason it is likely to look at other opportunistic moves to add sports to its line-up.
“It will be offering European football from the 2024-25 season which will provide a steady stream of coverage and with the objective of driving further uptake of Prime subscriptions.”
