Amazon adds sports gambling network to Prime Video
SportsGrid will be available in Amazon’s free bundle of channels.
US.- Amazon has added a 24/7 sports gambling network to its Prime Video offerings in a deal with SportsGrid. Available since Wednesday, SportsGrid has also been added to Amazon’s free bundle of channels on the FreeVee platform, previously IMDb TV.
The deal allows Amazon to enter the gambling content space without the need for in-house. Amazon is also reportedly considering the creation of a stand-alone sports app, which could help it generate new revenue from its sports rights, and SportsGrid could become part of that if Amazon goes ahead with it.
The launch of SportsGrid comes just ahead of the Super Bowl and follows Amazon’s inclusion of its DraftKings-sponsored Thursday Night Football games, for which it paid more than $1bn per season to secure the right for 11 years. It’s also bought exclusive rights to several English Premier League games and part-owns YES Network, which broadcasts New York Yankees games.
In November, Amazon added a 12-hour block of sports talk shows, including shows hosted by former ESPN anchor Cari Champion and Master Tesfatsion, previously of Bleacher Report. It’s been suggested that Amazon may decide to place some sports content in a separate subscription tier.
Founded in 2018, SportsGrid has deals with betting operators FanDuel, BetMGM and WynnBet to produce gambling-themed shows on fantasy sports and betting. It previews each night’s sports action during the day and has nightly programming that follows games and tracks live odds. Its content is already distributed by streaming services including Roku, YouTube TV and Fubo.
