Amazon Prime Video has retained the rights to one of the NFL Wild Card games according to a report from Sports Business Journal.
The Wild Card game will stay on Amazon Prime for a further seven years until 2032, the outlet reports.
The Wild Card games are the opening fixtures of the NFL play-offs, with the winners moving on to the Conference Play-Offs, the Divisional Play-Offs and ultimately the Super Bowl.
Three wild card teams compete in the play-offs each year, with one of these games earmarked for online streaming as opposed to traditional TV broadcast via the NFL. The deal sees Amazon beat Peacock to the punch once again.
NBC’s sports streaming proposition had secured the streaming rights to the 2024 Wild Card, two years after the platform launched. Amazon subsequently secured the rights to this year’s Wild Card game but under a one-off one-year contract, but the NFL has opted for longevity with the online video-on-demand giant.
The agreement further solidifies Amazon Prime’s podium spot in the US sports broadcasting space, a target the company has been pursuing and spending huge sums of money on for some time.
Amazon has been able to work its way into the sports broadcasting sector over the past few years as leagues became increasingly aware of the significance of the online streaming market, which is particularly strong among younger demographics.
The video streaming platform of the e-commerce giant – which has access to substantial enough capital to afford costly media rights payments in the first place – now sits alongside the likes of ESPN and NBC in many sports organisations’ media portfolios, as seen by its deal with the NBA.
This trend is not just occurring in the US either. The firm is also making a splash in European sports media, having picked up the rights to select Premier League and UEFA Champions League fixtures, among other major tournaments.
