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It has long been rumoured that an Internet giant would get in on the Premier League action, breaking the recent monopoly of BT Sport and Sky Sports, and now Amazon has stepped up to the plate.
In the end it wasn't Facebook or Netflix but the shopping behemoth turned tech giant, with Amazon announcing it would deliver 20 live matches plus weekly highlights from the world's most watched sports league.
From season 2019/20, Amazon Prime Video will show 20 live Premier League fixtures. The matches will be across two rounds of fixtures - the first December midweek round of matches, and all the fixtures on Boxing Day.
As a result, the deal will see Amazon Prime Video show all 20 Premier League teams. It will be the first time a full round of Premier League fixtures has been broadcast live in the UK.
The good news for UK Prime members? It will all be at no extra cost. The Premier League joins US Open Tennis, ATP World Tour Tennis events and NFL games, all currently available to watch live on Prime Video in the UK, and at no extra cost to Prime membership.
There's no word on audio and video quality, though Amazon, like Netflix, has been fast to support 4K Ultra HD, HDR and Dolby Atmos audio when it comes to streaming TV and films. We live in hope.
Amazon Prime membership currently costs £7.99 per month or best price £79 per year. You can see more details on the Amazon Prime page.
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This latest deal represents one of seven packages available for Premier League live coverage in the UK from 2019/20. Sky won four of the five 'best deals', with BT taking the other. BT and Amazon have now bought the two remaining packages.
While the amount paid by Amazon has yet to be announced, BT will be paying £975m over three years for 52 games a season from 2019, compared with £960m for 42 live games currently.
MORE:
17 of the best TV shows to watch on Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Video vs Netflix: which is better?
Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff and The Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).
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