Premier League TV rights: Amazon and BT Sport secure final packages

Amazon Prime Video will show 20 Premier
League games per season from 2019

One-Minute Read

It was also announced today that BT Sport has joined Amazon
Prime Video by acquiring one of the two remaining UK rights
packages on offer.

A total of seven deals have been negotiated by the Premier
League. In February Sky Sports paid £3.58bn for four rights
packages and BT Sport spent £295m on its first package.

In a
statement, Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore
said: “We are extremely pleased that Sky Sports, BT Sport and
Amazon have invested in these rights and all view the Premier
League and our clubs as vital parts of their live sports
offerings.

“Sky and BT are established Premier League partners and
provide first-rate coverage of the competition through their
live-match broadcasts and comprehensive programming.

“We welcome Amazon as an exciting new partner and we know
Prime Video will provide an excellent service on which fans can
consume the Premier League.”

Amazon Prime Video’s deal: how it
works

The tech giant has acquired Package F and the three-season deal
will see Amazon Prime Video broadcast 20 Premier League games from
one full bank holiday schedule and one round of midweek matches.
The BBC says it will be “the first time a full round of
Premier League fixtures will be broadcast in the UK”.  

It was revealed in November that Amazon will produce a
multi-episode behind-the-scenes documentary series with champions
Manchester City and the online streaming
service has also won rights deals to show the US Open tennis, NFL
matches and ATP World Tour Tennis events.

But the deal with the Premier League is a “ground-breaking shift
in domestic broadcasting” says the Daily Mail. The cost of Amazon’s rights package
has not been disclosed.

A membership for Amazon Prime currently costs £5.99 a month and
the company has said that the Premier League
coverage will come at “no extra cost”.

BT Sport spends £90m on second
package

After spending £295m for Package A, consisting of 32
matches at 12.30pm on a Saturday, BT has also snapped up a further
20 matches though Package G. Costing £90m, BT Sport’s second
package includes the rights to broadcast several fixtures from the
split weekend, a new initiative that will create an opportunity for
a mid-season player break, says the Premier League.

How the rights packages break down

According to a Premier League statement, a total of 200 live matches will be shown
per season for three years in the UK. The 2019-22 rights are split
into seven packages.

Sky Sports: 128 matches per season (four
packages) 

• Package B: 32 matches at 5.30pm on a Saturday 
• Package C: 24 matches at 2pm on a Sunday and eight matches at
  7.45pm on a Saturday 
• Package D: 32 matches at 4.30pm on a Sunday 
• Package E: 24 matches at 8pm on a Monday or 7.30pm/8pm on a
  Friday, and eight matches at 2pm on a Sunday

BT Sport: 52 matches per season (two
packages)

• Package A: 32 matches at 12.30pm on a Saturday 
• Package G: 20 matches from two midweek fixture programmes and
  five matches from the split weekend

Amazon Prime Video: 20 matches (one
package)

• Package F: 20 matches per season from one Bank Holiday and one
  midweek fixture programme