Amazon’s talks to beat Sky to new rugby Tests
RUGBY could make a radical breakaway from traditional broadcast this autumn after Amazon Prime opened talks to show the upcoming Eight Nations tournament.
Sky Sports’ long-term deal for England’s November internationals is up for renewal but The Mail on Sunday understands online retail giant Amazon has registered an interest in securing the rights for this year’s one-off competition.
Amazon’s stock hit an all-time high during lockdown due to changes in spending habits and it has the financial clout to outbid Sky, BT and the BBC.
The Six Nations have been put in charge of tendering and Amazon is eyeing a multi-million-pound deal which would coincide with its push for customers before Christmas.
RUGBY could make a radical break away from traditional broadcast this autumn after Amazon Prime opened talks to show the upcoming Eight Nations tournament.
Sky Sports’s long-term deal is up for renewal and The Mail on Sunday understands online retail giant Amazon has subsequently registered an interest in securing the rights.
Amazon’s stock hit an all- time high during l ockdown due to changes in spending habits and it has the financial clout to outbid Sky Sports, BT Sport and BBC Sport.
The Six Nations have been put in charge of the tender process and negotiations remain open with all parties, although there is a feeling that Sky Sports overpaid in its previous deal.
Amazon is interested in one-off, multi-million-pound deal for November, which coincides with its strategic push to attract new customers before the busy Christmas period.
It has already broadcast the Premier League and the US Open but now rugby wants to join the movement after suffering crippling revenue losses due to Covid- 19. Industry expert Andy Sutherden told The Mail on Sunday that the move would be a shrewd e-commerce play.
‘The timing of the autumn rugby fixtures is perfect for Amazon because it’s the prime trading period for black Friday and Christmas,’ said Sutherden, who advises major companies that partner with the like soft he Premier League, IOC, FIFA and World Rugby.
‘ There aren’t many prominent sporting events up for grabs in the Q4 of October, November, December and it’s all about getting into the public conscience.
‘Their broadcast strategy is to be very visible to the public when they want to attract the maximum amount of online retailing. They want to build an e-commerce database around sports fans. If you watch their documentary about Man City, you’ll get emails about buying Pep Guardiola’s book.
‘ The data geeks will tell you rugby-watching houses are high net worth families — and that’s a demographic they want to unlock.’
Rugby’ s power brokers are conscious of the need to break out of its traditional footholds to help grow the sport. RFU CEO Bill Sweeney has even mooted the idea of putting a microphone on England coach Eddie Jones to increase broadcast appeal.
An alternative would be in-match interviews, which are already a regular feature in domestic club fixtures. ‘I’d back Amazon to do something wholly different because they won’t want to do a vanilla broadcast,’ added Sutherden. ‘The DNA of their business is all about invention and innovation.
‘They’ re one of the most innovative businesses and Jeff Bezos has made an incredible amount of money over the past few months. If they get the rights, they’ll think, “Where can we put a camera or a microphone t hat nobody’ sputa camera or a microphone before?”.’
A Six Nations spokesperson said: ‘Six Nations are busy finalising the arrangements for the autumn competition including broadcasting. An announcement will be made when all elements are finalised.’