Amazon Prime Video forays into live sports, bags India rights for NZC

As per the deal, Amazon Prime Video will be carrying live coverage of all Black Caps and White Ferns internationals across all three formats -- ODI, T20 and Tests -- starting from late 2021.

New Delhi: Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday announced its arrival in the cricket streaming field in India after it inked a six-year deal with New Zealand Cricket.

Offering challenge to dominance of Sony and Walt Disney-owned Star network in the cricket streaming and telecast space, Amazon Prime Video said it has purchased the India territory rights for NZC through the 2025-26 season.

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As per the deal, Amazon Prime Video will be carrying live coverage of all Black Caps and White Ferns internationals across all three formats — ODI, T20 and Tests — starting from late 2021.

“We are excited to add India’s most loved game — cricket, to our content selection for our Prime Video customers, and we are thrilled to work with NZC on this endeavour,” Amazon Prime Video Director and Country General Manager, Gaurav Gandhi, said in a statement.

“They have a strong, passionate and much-loved cricket team, and the cricketing rivalry between the two countries has been fantastic. We are happy to make this collaboration with NZC our first live sport offering in India, and are confident our Prime members will be delighted with this initiative,” he added.

The India-based NZC rights package is the latest in Prime Video’s growing line-up of live sports around the world including Thursday Night Football, the Premier League, ATP Tour Events, WTA, the US Open (tennis), UEFA Champions League, and the Autumn Nations Cup (rugby).

The deal with NZC comes at a time when the global sports rights market was being impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This partnership with Amazon Prime Video is massive for NZC — we’re delighted and proud to be teaming up with such a famous and successful brand.

“As we’ve said before, the future of live sport is streaming and in Amazon Prime Video we have a partner right at the coalface of the industry; innovative, go-ahead and well-known for putting fans and subscribers first,” said NZC chief executive David White.

“India has always been an important market for us; no other country follows cricket like India, so it’s exciting to be announcing this agreement with India’s leading streamer.”