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Amazon has struck a deal said to be worth $40m (£30m) for the exclusive UK TV rights to the US Open tennis tournament, as the US firm looks to add to its 100 million Prime subscribers.
Amazon, which is in talks with the Premier League to potentially stream matches from 2019 to 2022, has struck a five-year deal starting with this summer’s tournament at Flushing Meadows in New York.
It will be provided to subscribers to its Prime service, which costs £79 a year and includes access to the streaming of music, films and TV shows such as The Grand Tour, plus free delivery of DVDs, CDs and books and other items purchased from Amazon.
Securing the rights to one of the four tennis grand slams adds to Amazon’s £50m, five-year, deal for the UK rights to the ATP World Tour, the men’s global competition featuring Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, for which it outbid Sky.
“We are proud to add the US Open to the growing portfolio of sports available on Prime Video,” said Alex Green, managing director of channels and sports for Amazon’s Prime Video operation in Europe. “This makes Prime Video a destination for tennis fans.”
The deal means that Amazon can provide Prime Video subscribers with access to three of the four grand slams. Subscribers who pay to access additional channels can also watch Eurosport, which has the UK rights to the Australian and French opens.
Wimbledon is protected by regulations as a “listed event”, meaning it has to be available in the UK on free-to-air TV, with the BBC holding the TV rights.
In 2016, Sky Sports dropped its coverage of the US Open after 25 years, ending one of the longest major sports rights deals.
(The Guardian)
