Amazon in Talks with ‘Good Morning Football’ Production Company; Is a Sports Morning Show on the Way?
Prime Video has already planted its flag in the sports broadcasting space and might be looking to start a sports studio show to rival “Get Up,” “First Take,” and “Undisputed.”
According to the New York Post's Andrew Marchand, Amazon has held “has held substantive discussions with Embassy Row,” the TV and digital production company that created the NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” and NBC Sports’ “Men in Blazers.” Marchand says there’s no signed formal agreement but says plans are already underway to get the show on the road, including which talent will host the unnamed program.
Since acquiring the exclusive rights to the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” Amazon has been a serious player in all sports discussions. Amazon is also in talks with the NFL to buy a minority stake into the league’s media properties, including NFL Network, NFL RedZone, and even NFL.com. This expanded partnership could even lead to Amazon procuring the rights to NFL Sunday Ticket. Internationally, Amazon owns the rights to multiple soccer federations across Europe, including the English Premier League, Ligue 1 and 2, and the Champions League.
While live sports dominate the sports ratings landscape, studio shows offer the next-best option, especially debate programming. According to Barret Sports Media, “First Take’s” October viewership was up 10 percent in October compared to the year prior–averaging 431,000 viewers per episode for the month. While Embassy Row’s shows tend to eschew the “First Take”-style in favor of a traditional morning show, Amazon will follow the money, and if it tells them a debate show is the way to go, they’ll go in that direction.
While Amazon will need a few more American sports rights to really stake its claim as the new leader in sports broadcasting, a studio show will be a great way to legitimize Amazon’s sports offerings.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 10,000+ movies, TV shows, and Prime Originals like “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Jack Ryan,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “The Boys,” and more. Subscribers can also add third-party services like Max, Showtime, STARZ, and dozens more with Amazon Prime Video Channels. Prime Video also offers exclusive live access to NFL Thursday Night Football.