Amazon is reportedly interested in acquiring a “super pack” of English Premier League (EPL) broadcast rights; a package that would give them 40 live matches/season, near live rights to all 380 games/season and the ability to show highlights. The rights would span 3 seasons (’18-’19 through ’21-’22) and in theory, help the e-commerce juggernaut bring new subscribers to their Prime service. The EPL, looking to offset the loss of value (-14% from last round of negotiations) from the first 5 packages that were awarded, has additional incentive to work out a deal with AMZN; the organization is considering launching its own OTT service and wants to use the next 3 seasons to gauge the potential for streaming success.
Howie Long-Short: Of the 5 rights packages awarded thus far, Sky Sports (subsidiary of Sky PLC, SKYAY) won 4 of them; for $1.655 billion/season. On Tuesday, Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) made a $31 billion offer for the European pay TV provider, driving SKYAY share prices up 21% (to $74.58). While that’s good news for SKYAY shareholders, the offer likely has DIS execs fretting. SKYAY was the “crown jewel” of DIS’ $52.4 billion offer for FOXA assets. DIS now must decide if it will proceed with the FOXA deal without SKYAY or look to outbid CMCSA for an asset it desires.
Fan Marino: The term “near live rights” refers to a networks ability to re-broadcast games shortly after their conclusion. That must be a European phenomenon. I find second screen devices (and platforms like Twitter) critical to the sports viewing experience. If the game isn’t live, you’re eliminating the use of those devices for the purposes of social interaction, game updates etc. Of course, you also must manage to avoid the score of the game while it’s being played; good luck with that!
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