Now Amazon could deliver a TV jackpot

THE Premier League look as though they will have a major new player entering the next TV rights auction, which is expected later this year, setting the stage for another bonanza payday.

There is widespread speculation in the industry following positive noises from Amazon Prime’s Seattle headquarters that they will bid for the set of three-year packages from the 2019-2020 season. Certainly Amazon are regarded as the most likely of the digital media giants to bid for PL content ahead of Facebook, Google, Twitter and Netflix.

Amazon’s purchase of ATP tennis tournaments will give them experience of handling live sports events on their streaming service platform.

And with Amazon having the financial muscle to buy as many packages as they want, the Premier League will be rubbing their hands, anticipating another rise in the value of their games for which Sky are already paying £11million a match.

This would not necessarily be the case if Sky and the other current rights holders, BT Sport, were the only pay TV operators interested in the live rights as both are very wary of paying above their own valuation. THE shortcomings of the FA’s half-hearted governance of football agents were laid bare by the disagreements between FA representatives and intermediaries at the Association of Football Agents summit in north London yesterday. The FA’s handling of multiple representative contracts lodged by different agents for the same player has been the main area of dispute. The FA’s defence was that the agents had to take responsibility for their own actions. HONOR HANCOCK, well known sports industry figure, is taking betting giants Coral to a Gibraltar employment tribunal claiming victimisation and bullying in the workplace. Hancock (right), who has worked for numerous companies, lasted just over four months as head of partnerships at Coral interactive. After she made complaints about the attitude of one member of her team, Hancock faced allegations from Coral about turning up for work in Gibraltar under the influence of alcohol. Coral declined to comment ahead of the tribunal, which starts on Friday. ONE proactive move by the agents has been setting up a course for intermediaries to learn the football business at the sporting mecca of Loughborough University. The cost of a term’s tuition is £1,500. But such are the FA’s differences with the agents, it’s no surprise the governing body have so far been reluctant to endorse it.