Talk about a power play.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has signed a deal with Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI) and the National Hockey League to bring Monday night hockey to Canada on Prime Video.
The two-year agreement starts in the 2024-2025 season and is the NHL’s first national broadcast deal with a streaming service provider in Canada.
“With Prime Monday Night Hockey, we’re offering our customers even more from their Prime membership,” said Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in a statement. “We’re committed to driving more innovation for fans as we bring the NHL into more Canadian homes and across more devices on Monday nights than ever before.”
Amazon is estimate to have roughly 7.8M Prime subscribers in Canada, according to Flix Patrol. By contrast, it has an estimated 167M users in the U.S.
“Rogers’ partnership with the NHL has been incredibly successful and integral to Sportsnet’s leadership as the number one sports media brand in Canada,” said Colette Watson, President, Rogers Sports & Media. “Today’s content ecosystem is evolving, and we’re really pleased to work with Amazon to continue to grow the game and help hockey fans watch games when and where they want.”
The move to bring NHL games to Canada continues Amazon’s and, by extension, the broader streaming industry, expansion for sports streaming rights.
In January, Amazon took a minority stake in Diamond Sports Group, allowing it to become the primary streaming-video partner for the networks, covering a number of pro teams in Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the NHL.
The Jeff Bezos-founded company also streams the occasional New York Yankees games via its part ownership in the Yes Network.
Amazon (AMZN) also airs Thursday Night Football as part of a deal with the National Football League that started in 2022. (NFL games are also streamed on YouTube TV (GOOG) (GOOGL) and Paramount’s (PARA) (PARAA) Paramount+.)
Other streaming services also offer live sports, including Comcast’s (CMCSA) Peacock, which touted the success of the Kansas City Chiefs-Miami Dolphins playoff game earlier this year. Peacock also offers English Premier League games and access to WWE (TKO) premium live events, such as WrestleMania.
Netflix (NFLX) has dipped its toes in the water with sports documentaries, the upcoming Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and recent events for tennis and golf, “The Netflix Slam” and “The Netflix Cup.” The streaming giant announced in January that it would become the home of WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night Raw, in 2025. (In addition, Netflix will become the home for all WWE shows and specials outside the U.S., including Smackdown, NXT and premium live events starting next year.)
Apple (AAPL) has a deal with MLB to bring games to Apple TV+ and signed a landmark 10-year agreement in 2022 to stream Major League Soccer on a global basis.
The Tim Cook-led tech giant is also reportedly in talks with FIFA to bring a new soccer tournament to its streaming service.