Amazon Prime's NHL deal breaches cable TV's last line of defence: live sports
CBC
For years, cable TV has bled viewers and subscribers to streaming giants like Netflix, Apple and Amazon. Now, those same companies are vying to stream live sports, one of the last lines of defence when it comes to audiences paying big bucks for traditional cable packages.
AppleTV+ has a 10 year, multibillion-dollar deal to stream MLS soccer matches and also streams some MLB games. Netflix has paid to secure the rights to WWE wrestling.
But Amazon was among the first streamers to aggressively bid on broadcast rights for a range of sports, and just this week, it added Monday night NHL games to its offerings.
"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," said Magda Grace, head of Prime Video, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in a news release.
Meanwhile, several U.S. media outlets have reported that Amazon is also poised to secure the rights to stream next season's NBA games.
"This is a bad sign for the ever-shrinking cable TV business," said Wade Payson-Denney, an analyst with Parrot Analytics.
In many lists of the most watched television shows of the year, sports dominates.
In both Canada and the U.S., the Superbowl occupied the top spot. In the U.S., the NFL claimed every other slot in the top 10 most watched telecasts. In Canada, hockey dominated the top 10 with a mix of world juniors and Stanley Cup playoff games.
The only non-sports program to make a dent in these lists was the 95th Academy Awards. The 2023 Oscars broadcast was the eighth most watched TV show in Canada and the 15th most watched in the U.S.
Those sports programs have been a lifeline for cable giants dealing with cord cutters as viewers abandon their cable packages.
"[Sports] used to be the one of the only things keeping people tied to cable," said David Hardisty, an associate professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business.
But as more sports migrate to streaming platforms, Hardisty says the long, slow decline of cable TV may speed up.
"I think this will accelerate the switch to streaming."
But traditional broadcasters aren't giving in without a fight.
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