E-commerce giant Amazon is hoping to expand its current live sports offerings for Prime members. Amazon has made a bid for Fox's multiple regional sports channels.
CNBC confirmed the news and said that Disney received the channels when they merged with Fox. Disney, which owns ESPN, has said they will give up these channels, in order to speed up the approval for other assets that are part of the acquisition. Comcast originally attempted to obtain 21st Century Fox's film and TV assets.
Amazon is looking to add these channels to their prime library.
These multiple channels broadcast games for more than 40 MLB, NBA, and the NHL teams. Amazon would also own the Yes Network. However, the New York Yankees are attempting to retake full ownership of the network. Other broadcast groups making offers include Apollo Global Management, KKR, The Blackstone Group, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Tegna.
Amazon is already built for sports streaming
Some see this possible purchase by Amazon as questionable since Amazon is best known for creating top-tier Prime original content such as "Jack Ryan."
However, the company has been investing in sports content for years now. Amazon has been streaming sports content in the US for a while now, including Thursday Night Football.
Amazon made a deal with the NFL to stream 11 "Thursday Night Football," games. Amazon managed to draw in 18.4 million views. The Verge reported that the deal cost Amazon $130 million.
Amazon has also produced multiple NFL documentaries as part of their Prime video library. They also reached a deal with Premier League soccer to stream 20 matches in 2019.
The games will be played during one holiday and the next week. The Guardian reported that the games will be available to Amazon Prime members in the United Kingdom for no additional fees.
Fox waiting to make its move in hopes of regaining regional sports networks
Fox has yet to put a bid in order to reclaim their sports networks.
However, they are expected to make a bid in the next round. Fox sold most of their television and movie assets to Disney.
The Department of Justice forced Disney to sell their sports channels to get their deal completed. The second round will begin before the end of the year.
Sports programming have been the main reason people have stuck with cable. However, this move by Amazon could be the push that will lead to sports fan to cut the cable. Amazon has remained quiet on the situation. It will be interesting to see how this impact the cable companies moving forward if the e-commerce giant wins the networks.