Amazon CEO Andy Jassy hinted at the company’s media strategy, namely how its NFL and live sports content can draw users into its retail ecosystem.

“It turns out that when people consume video content through Prime, they also tend to engage in some of the other activities that are available through Prime,” Jassy told CNBC.

The sports rights the tech giant has bought up may both help to keep its over 200 million subscribers engaged and encourage them to use the massive e-commerce platform for which the company is best known.

The company negotiated exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football” starting next season through 2033 at $1 billion per year. 

“We’re very, very excited about that starting in ‘22 and we’re gonna try and be inventive in the experience we provide for fans,” Jassy said.

Amazon’s 2019 Premier League broadcasts coincided with a record number of new Prime memberships in the United Kingdom.

• Amazon is believed to be the leading contender for “NFL Sunday Ticket” at a price of around $2 billion to $2.5 billion per year. Jassy declined to gauge the company’s interest in “Sunday Ticket” but noted that it has a “very important” partnership with the NFL, citing Amazon Web Services’ ongoing deal. 
• Amazon also holds rights to Ligue 1, Ligue 2, the WNBA, and Champions League.

Last month, Amazon unveiled its first televisions under its own brand name, merging  its shopping and media offerings into a single device.

“It’s still early days for us in media,” Jassy said.

On, the shoe brand backed by Roger Federer, lifted its expected value by 33% on Tuesday by raising its share price and shares issued while going public.

The company issued 31.1 million shares at $24 each, well above a previously reported plan to sell 25.4 million shares at $18 to $20.

The optimism was justified by the market: On’s shares jumped around 50% from its opening price.

• On raised $746 million through the IPO. 
• While it would have had a market capitalization around $7.3 billion based on its initial share price, the increase in stock price placed its market cap at $9.7 billion.
• The company’s revenue rose 84.6% year-over-year in the second quarter to $157.7 million. It eked out a profit of $1.9 million.

On is the fastest-growing  top-25 athletic shoe brand, according to market research firm NPD Group.

On’s Federer-designed shoe, The Roger, had its global release on June 30. Federer continues to show the power of his brand, earning $90 million in all off-court activities in the year ending May 1, second among all athletes, per Forbes.

The IPO was led by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan.

August saw record highs for consumer spending on video game hardware, content, and accessories. 

Total spending in August reached $4.4 billion, a 7% increase year-over-year, according to NPD Group. Since the start of 2021, spending has totaled $37.9 billion, a 13% spike compared to the same period a year prior. 

The influx of cash benefits several major players in the video game industry. 

• Sony posted a record operating profit of $2.57 billion in its fiscal Q1 behind the PlayStation 5 console — which has sold more than 10 million units since its November 2020 release. 
• Microsoft saw Xbox hardware revenue increase 172% year-over-year during fiscal Q4 2021. The company’s overall gaming category generated $3.7 billion in revenue during the quarter. 

Despite the record-setting month, the video game industry still faces adversity.

Sony and Microsoft are experiencing production delays for their new consoles due to the semiconductor shortage plaguing the tech industry, which may extend until 2023. 

Last week, Tencent and NetEase lost more than $60 billion in combined market value as investors anticipate more restrictions on gaming in China, the world’s largest gaming market. 

Japan-based Nintendo’s revenue decreased by 9.9% to $2.94 billion in fiscal Q1. Sales of the Switch console declined 22% year-over-year in Q1.

Comcast’s NBCUniversal agreed to a deal with Unanimous Media, a production studio owned by Steph Curry, valued in the “high-eight-figure range.”

The multiyear agreement was dubbed a “first-of-its-kind talent deal” because of its sprawling, global nature. Curry will have first-look development opportunities for scripted and unscripted projects across most NBCUniversal divisions including TV projects, Dreamworks Animation, Universal Parks, Comcast’s Xfinity brand, NBC Sports, NBC, and CNBC.

The Golden State Warriors star already has a few spots at the media giant lined up.

• Curry will cover the Ryder Cup later this month as an analyst. An avid golfer himself, the two-time NBA MVP made a seven-figure donation in 2019 to fund a men’s and women’s Division I golf program at Howard University.
• The Warriors’ star will help reboot public service announcement series “The More You Know,” sitting down with John Legend to discuss diversity and inclusion. It will air across NBCU’s platforms, including Peacock.

NBCU’s creative partnerships team will help with bringing brand relationships to Curry and Unanimous. WME represented Unanimous in the deal.

Curry became the first player to sign back-to-back $200 million deals last month, landing a four-year, $215 million extension with the Warriors.

The three-time NBA champion has recently invested in at-home fitness startup Tonal, beverage company Oxigen, financial services app Step, is an executive producer of the mini-golf series “Holey Moley,” and began a partnership with FTX earlier this month.