Sports Event Streaming by Amazon

Amazon prepares for its first exclusive broadcast of a sports event.

21:30 17 September 2018

Amazon is spending £34million on the UK rights to the US Open and will step into the shoes of Sky after it dropped its coverage of the event in 2016 after 25 years. Amazon has set up a studio at Flushing Meadows and drafting in former players, including Annabel Croft, Greg Rusedski and Jim Courier.

 

Graham Fry, managing director of IMG Productions, which produced Amazon’s coverage of the Wimbledon warm-up event, said: “Amazon will absolutely want to be seen to be producing to a level consummate to what Sky have historically. They are taking it very seriously as they did for Queen’s [tennis tournament] earlier in the summer,”

 

“They are putting a lot of resource into it. Streaming services are learning in an environment where people now want instant results. We are entering a phase of change [with streaming companies] happening quicker now than any time in my TV production career.”

 

Alex Green, who heads Amazon Prime Video’s sport push in Europe, says: “Of course we’re prepared, we’re no stranger to large-scale live events,” says Green, who formerly worked at BT. “It’s the biggest live event we’ve covered in the UK. We’re confident we can service demand.”