Amazon took center stage in the sports universe Thursday as the tech giant streamed its first exclusive NFL game — and for the most part, it passed the test. The game streamed without any major hiccups or outages. Some fans reported glitches and poor sound quality, but Amazon’s streaming technology seemed to hold up overall, a baseline requirement for any live sports game being aired on the internet. Amazon’s high-profile NFL deal — which will cost a reported $11 billion over the next 11 years — is part of the company’s bid to grow its content library, bolster its advertising arm,… Read More
Al Michaels, the longtime NFL play-by-play broadcaster, is Amazon’s pick to call “Thursday Night Football” games streaming on Prime Video this season, according to the New York Post. Michaels will join ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit in the booth — another hire by the tech giant, reported earlier this month. Michaels, 77, had been calling “Sunday Night Football” games for NBC and just did his 11th Super Bowl for the network last month. The move to Amazon comes after Joe Buck and Troy Aikman jumped from Fox over to ESPN to handle “Monday Night Football.” Buck signed a 5-year,… Read More
Disney is going to go its own way when it comes to streaming, announcing Tuesday that it will be ending its distribution deal with Netflix. The company plans to launch its own branded streaming service in 2019 and will also debut an ESPN service early next year. The announcement came during Disney’s quarterly earnings report and was detailed in a news release from the media giant. The move is made possible by Disney’s acquisition of a majority stake in BAMTech, the streaming video arm founded by Major League Baseball. Disney acquired a 33-percent stake in BAMTech last year for $1… Read More
