(Reuters) – Amazon’s Prime Video has shifted its strategic focus towards live sports and away from original television shows and movies, seeking to meet internal corporate profit targets, The Information reported on Friday.
Amazon’s reported move marks a pivotal moment for the tech giant as it looks beyond its traditional focus on original content for generating revenue.
Live sports events, with their real-time viewership, offer valuable opportunities for targeted ad placements, and has encouraged streaming companies to secure more live content deals to boost ad revenues.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy aims to make Prime Video profitable by the end of 2025, and this shift is part of the strategy to achieve that goal, according to the report, citing two sources familiar with the company’s plans.
Amazon has invested heavily in sports content, spending about $3 billion annually for broadcasting rights to major leagues such as the NBA and NFL, the report said.
In July, Amazon, along with Walt Disney’s ESPN and Comcast-owned NBCUniversal signed the rights to carry NBA games in an 11-year deal valued at $77 billion. Amazon also began placing ads within its Prime Video platform last year.
Prime’s biggest rival, Netflix has also made a strong push into live sports with deals for Christmas Day NFL games, a high-profile boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, and live WWE RAW events.
After a 2022 planning meeting, Amazon’s entertainment team has been commissioning fewer film and TV projects, according to the report which cited eight producers with ongoing or recent projects with the company.
For 2024, Amazon’s annual budget for original and licensed movies, TV shows, and live sports was around $7 billion, according to the report.
(Reporting by Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
