Are you ready for some fútbol, Washington?
Amazon Prime Video and the Seattle Sounders FC MLS team have announced a new, three-year partnership that makes Prime Video the sole digital streaming destination for all non-nationally televised Sounders FC matches throughout the club’s home broadcast territory (Washington state). The agreement begins August 26 with a match between the Sounders FC and the LA Galaxy and will run through the 2022 MLS season.
It’s the second time Prime Video has reached a streaming agreement with a sports franchise, and it’s the first deal with a professional soccer club.
“At Sounders FC, we often refer to ourselves as a family, and that notion extends to the greater Seattle community. When I think about our hometown, few brands are as closely associated with Seattle’s sense of innovation and ingenuity as Amazon,” Sounders FC Owner Adrian Hanauer said in a statement. “This is a proud day for our club, as we’re now able to bring our fans Sounders FC matches on the world’s premier video streaming service through a company that is synonymous with our city’s culture. On behalf of our organization, I am thrilled to welcome Amazon and Prime Video to the Sounders family.”
For everyone in the state of Washington with a Prime membership, this means you’ll be able to watch the Sounders FC content at home or across any number of compatible devices, including Fire TVs, Apple TVs, game consoles, and more. The Sounders FC is the first team with club-specific content available via its dedicated team page. According to an Amazon spokesperson, access to this content will be determined by the zip code of the membership holder.
Amazon previously partnered with the New York Yankees earlier this year to stream 21 games during the 2020 MLB season and has hosted numerous live sporting events in the past, including Thursday Night Football, the Premier League, the U.S. Open, the AVP Beach Volleyball Tour, and others. Additionally, there are several Prime Video channels that offer live sports, like MLB.TV or NBA League Pass. Those channels, however, may require their own subscriptions.
It may not be the biggest agreement as far as the bigger scope of sports and streaming are concerned, but this deal may be an important stepping stone for Amazon to strike deals with other professional teams in the future.
