As Amazon prepares for its exclusive stream of the NFL’s first-ever Black Friday game, the company is eyeing the NBA’s postseason games as another way to add value to its Prime Video membership.
The NBA is taking bids for its next set of media rights deals for 2025. Amazon’s Global Head of Sports, Jay Marine, says the company is interested in the rights and is negotiating for more than regular-season games to tap into the league’s young fan base and global reach.
“Would something like the playoffs be an important part of [our bid]? Yes, I think that’s fair to say,” Marine said during an interview on The Marchand and Ourand Sport’s Media Podcast.
Marine said that while Amazon aims to expand its sports offerings, it is going for quality over quantity to add more value for consumers. In addition to adding Thursday night NFL games, Prime Video has the exclusive rights to stream the league’s first Black Friday game.
Marine said Amazon needed to start with a great product, and building a Thursday night football franchise will help the platform stay competitive as a go-to app for sports.
“What fits is that it is one of the biggest leagues in the world, and people care about it,” said Marine. “At the end of the day, do Prime members care about it? Is it important to their life? And as a result, can it be meaningful in terms of the value it adds to Prime members and the Prime program? And I think with the NBA, it is true on all of those fronts.”
Amazon is also looking to less expensive leagues still emerging on streaming, including smaller sports whose rights are less costly to acquire but show potential for growth.
Several major media companies are also interested in NBA rights, including ESPN, Turner, Apple, Google, NBC, and Netflix. On March 9, ESPN and Turner start a 45-day exclusive negotiation window with the NBA.