Amazon sniffing at the Prem TV rights.

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

According to Fissler in the Rugby Paper on sunday
Amazon who tried to get the Prem Football games last month are taking an interest in Rugby.
They are being linked as the big competitors for Sky over NZ rugby which expires in 2021 the same time as BT sports and the Prem. (BT Europe deal ends 22)
They're also apparently in talks with a couple of clubs about creating a behind the scenes doc.

Honestly wouldn't be against it, I like the BT pundits but hate everything else about it, Sky i didn't like the pundits that much other than Greenwood, but loved the Rugby club and even the Super rugby show when it was on.

One thing i would love if Amazon was to win, would be if they could stream all the games instead of 3 a weekend, the commentators and stream is already there just needs a bigger broadcast.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I hope they do,
More sports need to embrace the internet

I would happily pay an online subscription to stream rugby legally but I have no interest in getting a tv subscription that I'd only use for a few hours a week

Rugby Pass stream all games every week so the infrastructure is definitely there

 

[Sixways Cheryl]

I've always liked BT's coverage & think they've been a breath of fresh air since taking over from Sky. Plus I've already got BT Sport so personally, I really don't want to have to subscribe to yet another platform if I want to watch the Aviva Prem.

 

[Which Tyler]

I've always liked BT's coverage & think they've been a breath of fresh air since taking over from Sky. Plus I've already got BT Sport so personally, I really don't want to have to subscribe to yet another platform if I want to watch the Aviva Prem.

Hear Hear - though Rugby is the only reason I have BT sport; and I'd happily drop it if I needed Amazon streaming. The good news (for rugby) is that if there's a bidding war, that should mean more money into the game - hopefully, and for once, that extra cash might be used to expand squads; rather than pay the superstars even more (it won't though).

Streaming platforms do seem to be the future of TV - though quite honestly, BT is already a streaming service (the non-freeview channels come down the broadband, not the aerial); but I don't like the sheer number of them, all requiring seperate payments.
BT; NowTV; Amazon; Netflix; Disney are coming soon - But never the twain shall meet.

 

[ratsapprentice]

BT; NowTV; Amazon; Netflix; Disney are coming soon - But never the twain shall meet.

I think you'll probably see Amazon and Netflix (and possibly YT) dominate, and eventually kill off a lot of the traditional providers.
Then they'll increase their prices, forcing people to make a decision about which services they can afford, people will not choose things like Disney because of their limited scope, and Disney will be forced into selling to Amazon/Netfrix.

I can't see there being 20+ different service providers in 10 years time.

 

[big ginger 8]

I think you'll probably see Amazon and Netflix (and possibly YT) dominate, and eventually kill off a lot of the traditional providers.
Then they'll increase their prices, forcing people to make a decision about which services they can afford, people will not choose things like Disney because of their limited scope, and Disney will be forced into selling to Amazon/Netfrix.

I can't see there being 20+ different service providers in 10 years time.

Disney can wait a long time before having to sell anything. Star Wars and Marvel alone give them license to do whatever the **** they want.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yeh no way will Disney sell to amazon or Netflix anytime soon.

Have the two biggest movie franchises and the biggest Animation catalogue.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Maybe, but at the moment Prime and Netfrix cost between £5-10 each per month... if their TV competition is killed off, then they will be far more able to increase their prices, and may have to if they start spending a load of money on sport and even more regular content.

At that point, most people are going to have to make a choice about which content they want more... if Prime and NF move up to, say £20pm each, then the additional cost, solely for Disney content will be much less easy to justify for most people.
As well as the hassle of having to use 2,3+ formats to reach the content.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Disney can afford to keep their prices low.
They also have brought fox studios so will no doubt have things like
X-Men franchise
Avatar franchise
The Simpsons
Family Guy
etc etc
+ Nat Geo stuff.

Also Disney also owns ESPN and ABC so could if the world really turned to streaming channels instead of TV merge that into their service.

If anything i could see it ending up as Disney streaming service buying Netflix v amazon Prime.

 

[ratsapprentice]

If anything i could see it ending up as Disney streaming service buying Netflix v amazon Prime.

Absolutely.... the point I'm making is that you aren't going to have tens of providers... you'll have 2 or 3.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I can see sports broadcasting ending up like the airline industry. 20 years ago all sales were done through travel agents. Now people go direct to the airline and choose exactly what they want.

For travel agents, read traditional broadcasters. We already have packages like NFL Game Pass which bypass traditional broadcasters. If we want to watch rugby but don't want kabbadi as part of the deal, I won't have to pay Sky, BT, Premier, Virgin, Eir for the privilege. It'll empower the consumer and we can choose to pay for only what we wish to watch.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I think you'll continue to see that NFL model, where the promotion has it's own 1st party boradcast, but also sells the rights to 3rd parties, who want to offer it as part of their package.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Currently I pay I think around £65 PM for Full Sky Package, BT sports Netflix and Amazon prime. Sky being around £45 of that, The sports being the most expensive part of the package but it's still IMO a reasonable amount. (although with less and less rugby am tempted to chop sports).

I suggested to a guy at Tigers to think about broadcasting the A league games and Preseason stuff on something like Twitch or Youtube since the only people that go to those games are the season ticket holders who get them for free anyway. But it fell on deaf ears.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Amazon have the rights to 20 PFL games.
Could be big news for PRL rights, when they come up.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Amazon have also bought the rights to the ATP tennis from next year so looks like they are buying up a lot of sports rights. Agree that Prime won't be £79 a year for too long, and they'll whack up the price soon.