Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, when in February was seen meeting people in the booth of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the Super Bowl, people from the media world largely be expecting moves from the Amazon towards its plans of dominating the sports media.
But still after two years when it first stepped into the live sports streaming, Amazon has yet to decide on a strategy as it remained experimenting and analyzing consumer behavior during that time, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Sports Video Marie Donoghue told Reuters.
Amazon from the very first day was literally experimenting and learning in sports, Donoghue said in an interview in New York last week, which was her first after taking over the charge of company’s sports media division last fall.
Donoghue is a nearly twenty-year veteran in the media industry working with the ESPN cable network of Walt Disney Co and have shows like “OJ: Made in America” and “30 for 30” series on her credit; and her arrival at the world’s largest online retailer highlights a next level of serious approach of the company in pursuit of live sports.
One of the last remaining reason people are still paying for live television is the live sports and in the scenario when Facebook Inc, Alphabets Inc’s YouTube, Twitter Inc and Amazon are threaten to loosen the TV’s grip on live sports with the rumors of a big tech takeover the live sports, Donoghue’s arrival at Amazon is still to impact and that remains to be seen.
Since 2017, Amazon remained successful to grab the digital rights to live stream U.S. Open Tennis Championships in the UK, three seasons of Thursday Night Football and some of England’s Premier League soccer matches, among others.
Currently, the company is largely focusing enabling Amazon Prime subscriber to manage nearly every aspect, including how, when and where to watch, of their viewing experience, Donoghue said.