Look out television networks, there’s a new cricket broadcaster in town. And they’re here to stay.
Popular streaming service Amazon Prime is poised to become a go-to cricket destination down under, solidifying a huge deal with the International Cricket Council.
What does the ICC x Amazon Prime rights deal include?
The agreement gives the streaming giant exclusive live streaming rights in Australia to all major ICC cricket events, including the Mens and Womens ODI World and T20 World Cups, plus the World Test Championship final.
Beginning in January 2024 and running over the ensuing four years, the deal includes broadcast rights in Australia for 448 live games from 2024 to 2027.
It comes off the back of an extremely successful 2023 ODI Mens Cricket World Cup, won by Australia. The India-hosted tournament broke attendance and viewership records, while also becoming one of the most digitally engaged events ever.
From January 2024, the partnership offers Australian cricket fans exclusive access to all matches in every tournament of ICC competition across all cricket formats, at no extra cost to a Prime Video membership.
Alongside the World Cup’s and World Test Championship, the deal means Australian cricketing fans will also be able to watch tournaments like the U19 World Cup and the Champions Trophy on Amazon Prime, which also shows the hit docu-series, The Test.
Hushidar Kharas, head of Prime Video Australia and New Zealand, confirmed the deal is part of the streaming services goal to “create a single destination for audiences to find new movies, live sports, and their favourite TV shows.”
“We are always looking for ways to deliver more value to our customers and live sports is consistently one of their top requests.”
“The Cricket World Cup is one of the most viewed sporting events in the world; the recently concluded edition was watched by millions of people!”
Content not included in the Amazon Prime Video broadcast deal
This deal involves all ICC cricket events, listed above, but not any Australian Test or short format series played on home soil; they’ll still be on Kayo and Channel 7.
The BBL and WBBL will also remain under the control of Foxtel’s streaming platform Kayo and also Seven.
What does this mean for the future of live sport viewership?
First, they came for the movie and television industry. Now, streaming services are coming after live sporting events.
Streaming is viewed as the new broadcast frontier, the funnel through which major sporting codes can attract a Tik Tok generation reared on Netflix and Kayo, as opposed to Blockbuster and Nine’s Wide World of Sports.
Many, including soon-to-be former Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, believe the future of sports broadcasting lies in streaming.
Cuban is one of the many major global sporting figures who believes venturing into and nailing streaming platforms as broadcast partners is paramount for sport’s future survival.
“Old school television is dying. And streaming is taking over,” Cuban told former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the All The Smoke podcast.
Already in Australia we’ve seen the emergence, and rise, of sports streaming. In 2018, Foxtel launched streaming platform Kayo Sports, which offers viewers an alternative platform to view every sport available on Fox Sports without the need to purchase a full Foxtel package.
Over 1 million Australians use Kayo Sports, highlighting the increasing preference Australian sports fans are showing streaming.
Outside of Kayo, most of Australia’s major free-to-air TV channels – Channel 7, Channel 9, and Channel 10 – have their own streaming alternatives, such as 10Play. These platforms are geared towards younger audiences, many of whom do away with traditional television and prefer to stream their favourite sports through their laptop or phone.
In a digital age, it’s paramount for sports to think digital, especially when it comes to broadcasting.
Australia’s top-tier football leagues, the A-League Men and A-League Women, perfectly encapsulates this. Both competition’s are streamed almost exclusively Paramount+, though many would argue this deal was made out of necessity for the league to secure a broadcasting deal, rather than a savvy piece of business where the competition’s are ahead of the curve.
The plight of Australia’s professional leagues is similar to the Premier League’s experiences down under. Having previously been housed at Fox Sports, the rights to the English top flight were awarded to Optus Sport in November 2015.
A new deal means the Premier League looks set to remain on the streaming platform until at least 2028, while the platform has also added other top global football competitions, including Spanish top flight, La Liga.
In America a similar story is playing out. Given the rising popularity of the MLS, Apple TV+ signed a 10-year, $2.5 billion deal for exclusive worldwide broadcast rights with the league, which launched in February 2023.
It was a move that forced doors open for the league that might’ve otherwise remained unopened, allowing the MLS to attract a larger, more diverse audience of football fans from every corner of the globe.
Lionel Messi’s arrival at Inter Miami a year later only added to the deal’s appeal, even if the Argentine’s contract includes revenue sharing agreements with the streaming service.
All this shows is that the future of watching sport lies in streaming. Once viewed as a major roadblock that reduced the live sport product through smaller screens and an over reliance on untrustworthy internet, streaming has increased the reach and appeal of many global sports.
Where before fans were limited in what they could watch, with many TV stations only capable of showing a single match a time, streaming opens new viewership doors, allowing matches to essentially be watched whenever and wherever sporting fans please.
In an increasingly fast-paced society, where schedules are loaded more than plates on Christmas Day, streaming platforms allow fans to tune in on the go. On top of this, they afford fans the luxury of re-watching complete matches or catching up on highlights at a single push of the button.
Conclusion
Amazon Prime Video’s broadcast rights deal with the ICC is a continuation of sport’s digitalisation. While it won’t destroy traditional television viewership; fans, particularly cricket fans still hold services like Channel 9 and Kayo Sports in high regard, it certainly suggests the funeral of traditional TV’s relationship with sport may come sooner rather than later.
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