Today, Amazon has announced that it will be showing 20 Premier League fixtures per season from 2019-2022, following its acquisition of a Premier League broadcasting package. All of the matches will be available in the UK for no additional cost on Prime Video, the video on-demand service exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers.
The broadcasting package acquired by the company is one of the final two smaller ones that was available, albeit one that features fixtures over an important holiday period. The first midweek round in December will be streamed on Prime Video, followed by streaming of the Boxing Day round later that month. The Premier League comprises of 20 teams, and the package of 20 games will cover two full rounds of fixtures, thereby including all participant teams. This will make it the first time a full round of Premier League matches will be broadcast live in the UK.
Prime membership currently costs $12.99 a month, after going up by $2 in January. On the other hand, the yearly membership is $49. Premier League football joins a growing collection of live sports being streamed on Prime Video, including NFL games, ATP World Tour Tennis events, and US Open Tennis. Additionally, aside from live streaming, weekly highlights of all Premier League fixtures throughout the season will be available to be viewed by Prime subscribers as well.
Jay Marine, Vice President of Prime Video in Europe, commented on the new partnership, noting:
"We are always looking to add more value to Prime, and we’re delighted to now offer, for the first time, live Premier League matches to Prime members at no extra cost to their membership. The Premier League is the most watched sports league in the world. Over these two December fixture rounds Prime members will be able to watch every team, every game, so no matter which Premier League team you support, you’re guaranteed to see them play live on Prime Video."
The other package of 20 games was bought by BT for £90 million ($121 million), although it is not yet clear how much Amazon had to pay to secure streaming rights for the somewhat similar package it acquired. The company will be looking to push the number of Prime subscribers in the coming years, especially since avid football fans in the UK will now need to subscribe to Amazon Prime, as well as BT Sport and Sky Sports, to view all Premier League matches available on TV.