Amazon Prime Video is expanding its sports streaming reach through a new deal to become the official streaming video partner of the Seattle Sounders MLS soccer team.
Prime Video is now the sole digital streaming option for all “non-nationally televised” Sounders FC matches throughout the club’s home broadcast territory. Sounders FC’s regional broadcast territory extends throughout the entirety of Washington State – including the Seattle-Tacoma-Everett television market along with cities like Spokane, Yakima, Tri-Cities and Vancouver, Washington.
Starting with Sounders FC’s August 26 match at the LA Galaxy, the three-year agreement is set to run through the 2022 Major League Soccer season.
“We’re excited to join forces with Sounders FC to give Prime members around Washington State access to all regionally broadcast MLS matches on Prime Video over the next three seasons,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video at Amazon, in a statement. “Sounders FC is a fundamental part of our culture here in the Pacific Northwest, and as a club they have always been at the forefront of innovation in professional sports. We share this common vision for innovation at Prime Video, and are committed to delighting fans and enhancing the value of a Prime membership through sports, and we believe this deal accomplishes just that.”
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Amazon said this is its second direct streaming deal with a sports franchise. The service partnered with YES Network and the New York Yankees, and had planned to stream 21 Yankees games during the 2020 MLB season. Those plans were officially scuttled, however, after the MLB season was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Amazon Prime Video also has a streaming agreement with Premier League soccer in Europe. Earlier this summer the service announced that it would make all its Premier League matches free to stream on its Prime Video and Twitch platforms.
Earlier this year, Amazon has renewed its NFL Thursday Night Football streaming agreement and has one extra, exclusive regular season game to the deal. The multiyear agreement covers 11 Thursday Night Football games per season on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch. Amazon also agreed to exclusively stream one regular season game globally on Prime Video and Twitch, which will be played on a Saturday in the second half of the 2020 NFL regular season.