Could Amazon be the next big sports media company?
The tech giant already has the exclusive rights to “Thursday Night Football” starting next year and it appears to be eyeing a daily sports lineup.
Amazon Prime Video has had “substantive discussions” with Embassy Row — a Sony television and digital production company — and are already recruiting personalities for sports shows, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
Embassy Row is the same company that produces the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” and NBC Sports’ “Men in Blazers.”
Nothing formal has been signed between the two companies, but an arrangement will be green-lit with Amazon hoping to start with a morning show and have daily studio programs, per Marchand, although Amazon’s approach could be flexible.
ESPN and FS1 currently dominate the daily sports morning show landscape on TV with shows such as “Get Up,” “First Take” and “Undisputed.”
But Embassy Row does not typically follow the fiery takes format and instead favors frivolity, per Marchand.
It is unclear what talent Amazon and Embassy Row are attempting to recruit, but Amazon is already proving to have its eyes on the best when it comes to putting a booth together for “Thursday Night Football” next year.
Multiple reports have signaled Al Michaels, whose contract expires with NBC, will be the likely play-by-play voice while Troy Aikman, Drew Brees and Cris Collinsworth could be tapped as potential pairings with Michaels.
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While the company may not be an immediate threat to ESPN and FS1, it certainly has the resources to attract the talent that could make them legitimate competitors.
Marchand also noted that somewhere like the YES Network, which Amazon has ownership in, could also be a place where these TV shows air.
Embassy Row is also not the only potential partner Amazon is talking with, signaling that the tech giant is ready to compete in the sports media landscape.
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