In early 2024, Amazon Prime Video expanded its growing sports catalog by bidding into a slice of the new NBA media rights deal.
The media giants may not be finished: In an interview with CNBC’s Alex Sherman, Prime Video’s Global Head of Sports Jay Martine admitted that Amazon is interested in both Major League Baseball and UFC.
“We looked at everything, you know, I think it’s only responsible to look at everything,” Marine said when asked about the prospect of buying into MLB.
“I think MLB has done a great job,” he continued. “You know, they’ve really made some innovations in the game to speed up the game, and that’s really seemed to have worked.”
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MLB’s local rights deals with Diamond Sports couldn’t have gone any worse after the company declared bankruptcy, prompting MLB to seize control of TV production for many of their teams.
For national broadcasts, the league partners with FOX, TNT, and ESPN, MLB baseball has a mutual opt-out with the worldwide leaders in the sports on the horizon.
According to The Athletic, “MLB plans to create national packages for major streaming companies to bid on by 2028.”
Dana White and UFC could partner with Amazon in the near future (
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Getty Images)
Amazon could be one of a handful of new companies to join the fray, as baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has emphasized that he would like to distribute games across platforms.
“I’d like to have all the rights available,” Manfred said in November. “I’d like to talk to the people who are buyers. I’d like to cut them up into packages and sell them, as many of them as possible, nationally, and then have a plan to deal with what’s left over.”
Speaking of ESPN: the UFC’s deal with the platform also ends at the end of the year. Marine spoke of Amazon’s potential to swoop in.
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“You know what Dana [White] and that team, I mean, that’s an incredible success story,” he “They’ve grown that into just an incredibly valuable franchise, incredibly passionate fan base.”
“I have huge respect for them over there, and if that comes to market, I think they’re an exclusive window right now, we’d be very interested in taking a look as I expect every broadcaster would.”
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