By Jonathan Easton

Amazon has signed a rights deal with Swimming Australia, marking the retail and service giant’s first foray into the Australian rights market.

The company has reportedly been eyeing the Australian market in recent times, with the country becoming increasingly more streaming-native.

Confirming interest in the country, Amazon has swept in to replace previous rights holder Seven, which terminated its deal after the Olympic and Paralympic trials were cancelled in 2020.

This global two-year deal will see Amazon have the exclusive rights to stream the full range of Australian Swimming Championships events. The first event to be streamed by Prime will take place on June 12, with Swimming Australia streaming coverage of smaller events on its in-house OTT platform.

Head of Prime Video Australia, Hushidar Kharas said: “Sport is an intrinsic part of Australians’ lives, and Amazon Prime Video has already established itself as the home of captivating Australian sports docu-series including The Test and the upcoming AFL docu-series Making Their Mark.

“The launch of live sports streaming on Prime Video in Australia is a natural progression for us, and we are proud to be partnering with Swimming Australia to bring the iconic and beloved sport to Prime Video customers.”

The move comes at a busy time for Prime’s sports expansion. The company has made a play for France’s Ligue 1 domestic rights following the league’s disastrous deal with Mediapro, and considered bidding for Italy’s Serie A but ultimately could not reach a deal.https://www.digitaltveurope.com