Amazon Prime Video, James Corden Among Denouncers of Soccer ‘Super League’
It turns out that the proposed “Super League” that may come to global soccer is more unpopular than we even imagined — and one anticipated “villain” is drawing their proverbial line in the sand because of it.
We speculated yesterday about which streaming service would risk trying to ink a streaming rights deal with the Super League, as doing so would no doubt fracture any sort of relationship between the streamer and existing soccer governing bodies like UEFA and FIFA. Amazon seemed like a sure-fire answer, as the company seems hell-bent on acquiring more and more stuff to sell to its avid subscriber base, including paying billions for NFL streaming rights.
Well, you can scratch Amazon Prime Video off that list, at least for now. Today, Amazon released a statement denouncing the Super League concept in a Twitter post:
Amazon Prime Video statement on the proposed Super League: pic.twitter.com/FCHc94yDns
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) April 20, 2021
Fans were skeptical of the post, with many saying that Amazon would still try to buy rights to the league anyway, mirroring thoughts we had yesterday.
Give it time 4-5 weeks and you will see Amazon or Apple or even Sky making bids
— ETIS (@DevilDollmusic) April 20, 2021
Lets be honest, you’ll be airing it when it goes through.
— ＣＨＩＥＦ (@LFCdedoid) April 20, 2021
You will lose my subscription, and predict many, many others, if you bid to broadcast this proposed new competition.
— Mark L (@Toffybolox) April 20, 2021
Any company that is associated with it, either through broadcast or sponsorship, will not see another penny from my bank account
Currently, Amazon does not own soccer streaming rights in the US, but streams the Premier League in the UK as well as UEFA events in Italy and Germany. A new league would give them a new opportunity to move into the very desirable position of U.S. streaming rights — but would Amazon risk the PR hit that would inevitably follow?
To nobody’s surprise, criticism is still pouring in for the Super League. Late night host and England native James Corden got in on the action, giving a brilliant, impassioned monologue during his show, saying the owners have showed “the worst kind of greed” by breaking away:
Even England’s government is trying to stop the Super League. We shared Boris Johnson’s words yesterday, but those were just words — Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer is taking things a step further by considering legislation that would limit English clubs' involvement in the Super League and even wants to change club ownership regulations.
Nobody’s happy and it’s the billionaire owners’ collective faults. The Super League proves that soccer is no longer a game that can be enjoyed by everyone — it’s only for the wealthy, driven by greed and vanity. This Super League fiasco is just getting started and hopefully, it has a happy ending — though we have our concerns.