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Amazon has added a major piece to its U.K. sports rights portfolio.
The tech giant and BT Sport have acquired U.K. rights to the UEFA Champions League.
- Broadcasters will share coverage privileges for three years, starting with the 2024-25 season.
- The deal will also include the Europa League and Europa Conference League.
- The contract could be worth $1.8 billion, a 20% lift from the current three-year cycle. BT will pay $368 million annually.
Prime Rights
Amazon has shown a willingness to spend on the most popular sports leagues within the countries it operates to grow its Prime Video subscriber numbers.
The company already holds U.K. rights to the Premier League, along with Sky Sports and BT Sport. Last year it added domestic rights to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.
Amazon is also one of the final bidders for NFL Sunday Ticket, along with Disney and Apple, which it could combine with its exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football.” The NFL is seeking $2.5 billion to $3 billion annually.
The company pulled out of the bidding for domestic rights to the Indian Premier League, ceding that ground to Viacom18 and Disney, which respectively paid $2.6 billion and $3 billion for streaming and TV rights.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that the deal has been made official.
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