For the last few years, including during the pandemic, Amazon Prime Video has streamed live Premier League football. It purchased one of the live broadcast packages during the last time the Premier League auctioned the rights in 2018.
However, that deal is soon to come to an end and another streaming service is tipped to pick up some of the matches. Amazon itself may even withdraw from the process as it is reported to not want to enter a bidding war.
It is claimed by The Times (via The Sun) that DAZN could be a major bidder for at least one of the five TV packages soon to be auctioned by the league. It is said to be particularly keen on the 12.30pm Saturday time slot, currently held by TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport).
However, if Amazon does pull out this time, it could well end up with those matches too. Prime Video usually shows two rounds of matches with 10 live games traditionally shown in October, the other 10 shown on Boxing Day (26 December).
The Times also suggests that DAZN may not be the only streamer keen on snagging Premier League football – it reports that Google could be an additional bidder to screen matches on its YouTube service.
Sky and TNT Sports are fully expected to bid too, although the amount raised is not expected to eclipse the £1.71 billion spent on domestic rights last time.
Nor is Apple expected to enter the fray, even though its exclusive MLS coverage has been successful.
It's positive though that the Premier League has listened to many fans and has decided to increase the number of live games up for tender (from 2026/27 season on) from 200 to 270. However, there's also a scenario whereby the five packages on offer could be acquired by five separate broadcasters and services.
That would mean you'd have to subscribe to five different outlets to see them all. It's bad enough we already have three – Sky Sports, TNT Sports, and Amazon Prime Video.
Let's just hope the Premier League sees sense and keeps the service hopping to a minimum.
