Running Away With It: Amazon Prime, Oakland A's and LA Rams Making Out Like Gangbusters
Amazon Prime Video & MMA. Oakland A's to Vegas. LA Rams to The Big Screen.
Our thoughts are with the country and people of Ukraine, hoping a peaceful end is near
On Today’s Agenda:
Amazon Prime Video’s Partnerships With the NFL, MLB, and Latest MMA Deals
Oakland A’s Inching Closing to Las Vegas Move
LA Rams Release Hollywood Level Movie Trailer For The NFL Draft
Trending: Subscription Models & Sports
Amazon Prime Video’s Partnerships With the NFL, MLB, and Latest MMA Deals
By Caleb Gilligan
This week, ONE Championship announced that they had partnered with Amazon Prime Video to showcase 12 live mixed martial arts events annually for the next 5 years. The deal further increases Amazon’s investment in the live sports market after agreements with the NFL and MLB earlier in the year.
Although most sports fans have never heard of ONE Championship, Amazon is banking on them increasing their presence in live sports. ONE Championship is a Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion that began in 2011. ONE is the largest MMA promotion in Asia, being backed by several wealthy investment companies, and has hosted over 100 live events in the region. Although the promotion is not as popular in other regions of the world, they have improved its recognition by signing several former UFC champions such as Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson. Despite being far from UFC in terms of popularity, ONE has steadily cemented itself as a top-five MMA promotion in the world with lots of potential for growth. With their ever-growing streaming content, Amazon believes that ONE Championship can rival the UFC in the future, with the proper marketing and platform. Although the agreement with ONE Championship is huge MMA and will undoubtedly add to the long list of Prime Video’s sporting options, Amazon was able to achieve some other lucrative live sports deals.
From 2017 to 2022, Amazon hosted 10 to 11 non-exclusive NFL Thursday Night Football games on Prime Video. This meant that Prime subscribers had the option to watch every Thursday night game on the Prime Video platform. Amazon introduced some new and innovative features such as Spanish and Portuguese language options, all-female commentary teams, and even hired British and Irish soccer commentators to help grow the game in the United Kingdom. The partnership was a success for the NFL and in 2021, the league agreed to give Amazon exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football from 2023 to 2033 for an estimated $1 billion per season. This means that 15 Thursday night NFL games will only be available on Amazon Prime Video, a massive change for football fans who are used to watching the game on cable television.
However, Amazon’s dive into the live sports market didn’t stop there. A few weeks ago, the New York Post announced that Amazon Prime Video will be the exclusive host to 21 New York Yankees games in the 2022 MLB season. This means that once again, fans will be unable to watch Yankee games on their usual YES network, but are instead directed to Prime Video.
With over 20 MLB games this season, monthly ONE Championship MMA events for 5 years, and weekly NFL games for 11 years, Amazon has made a statement in their pursuit to dominate the sports streaming world. It's unquestionably a long-term strategy as live television and events continue to trend towards subscription models that networks have not been able to properly capitalize on. However, with partnerships with the two largest sporting leagues in the world by revenue, the MLB and NFL, Amazon is well-positioned to capitalize on the live sports market.
Las Vegas Hits The Jackpot, Again
Oakland A’s Inching Closing to Las Vegas Move
By AJ Hewish
Since 1968 the Oakland Athletics (A’s) have been the Major League Baseball Team in Oakland, California and have given us some memorable moments of baseball history such as their 20-win streak record in the iconic 2003 MLB season (Thanks, Brad Pitt). But in recent times, the A’s ownership is waiting until the day they can finally leave the Oakland Coliseum.
Well that time may finally be right around the corner…
Recently, the Oakland A’s have furthered their interest in their potential new stadium development along the Las Vegas Strip, with many offers currently outstanding on multiple stadium sites, with a final destination hoping to be announced soon. One of the potential sites could even see a hybrid style stadium, being attached to a hotel and casino, but we will see the A’s ownership’s decision in the next 2 to 4 weeks according to multiple reports. Maybe we’ll get to see Sheldon Neuse hit an out of the park and hit the Luxor Hotel Pyramid (the potential neighbour of the new stadium).
But here at wwm, we like to look at the bigger picture, and in this instance, its surrounding the amazing development and rise of professional sports in Las Vegas. In the past 5 years, we’ve seen the Las Vegas Golden Knights join the NHL, the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA, and even Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL Championship. Las Vegas seems like the hotspot for all new or moving professional sports teams in the US.
With a highly attractive market of fun, entertainment, gambling, and overall the wild atmosphere of Las Vegas, Nevada, all of these teams are starting up or moving to the City that Never Sleeps, and we’re all for it. The Golden Knights have won 2 division championships and a conference championship, and the Aces have won a conference championship in the past few years. No wonder people love Las Vegas, its the City of Luck, so going to Las Vegas seems like the perfect thing to do for a sports team.
Now back to the A’s. Finish 2nd twice in the AL West, 1st in the AL West, and 3rd in the AL West in the past 5 years, maybe this move will bring some extra luck to the boys in yellow and green. Maybe even a potential rebrand to reignite the A’s and finally bring some glory and win their first World Series since 1989, but we’ll soon find out.
Hopefully this move brings some further success for the organization as the Golden Knights have seen since their introduction into the NHL, with Las Vegas being a very up and coming professional sports city. Maybe even incorporating the flashy and entertainment value of the city into Major League Baseball at their new stadium.
I guess we’ll find out soon and maybe see the rise of a new MLB giant after their move is completed. The A’s are doing all they can to get out of Oakland and chase their title hopes, or even as many would say, chase their white whale.
Stealing The NFL Draft
LA Rams Release Hollywood Level Movie Trailer For The NFL Draft
By Hiral Patel
The NFL Draft is one of the league’s biggest events of the year, spanning over 3 days and giving all 32 teams a reason to be there (assuming no one dumped all their picks in the previous off-season). Across 3 days, fanbases crowd around screens across America to see the future of their team unfold in front of their eyes while the dreams of aspiring NFLers come true as their names are announced on stage. While the Mel Kiper Jrs across the nation are giving their analysis on each pick, and looking at the biggest steals and surprises of the draft - one team decided to take matters into their own hands and “steal” the draft themselves.
The Super-Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams are coming off a very impressive season, winning the Lombardi trophy at home in SoFi Stadium. After bringing in stars like Matt Stafford and Odell Beckham Jr at the cost of draft capital, the Rams do not have a selection until the 3rd round this year. However, that didn’t stop the team from rolling out the red carpet to hype up this year’s draft:
On The Clock: The House Always Wins | Rams Full Draft Trailer
The Rams released this trailer, with an Ocean’s Eleven vibe, surrounded on the idea of “stealing” the 2022 NFL Draft. Starring Aaron Donald, Matt Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Tyrese Gibson, the trailer alludes to the team not taking the foot of the gas on the heels of their Super Bowl winning season. With no picks until the 3rd round, the Rams will absolutely need to find a diamond in the rough at pick 104.
What stands out about this trailer is the premium quality of it. You could drop this trailer in movie theatres across the world and have most of the audience confident that this action thriller is coming soon to a theatre near them. With the Rams relocating to LA in 2016, the team has had to rebuild a fanbase after giving up a loyal one in St. Louis. With the number of sports and entertainment entities in the LA area, it takes a lot to make a big splash and a statement - the Rams clearly are taking advantage of their Super Bowl and intend to continue to stay top of mind in NFL headlines, both locally and around the country.
With the 2022 NFL draft being hosted in Las Vegas this year, the event begs for spectacle. The city expects to have approximately 600 000 fans in attendance for the draft festivities, similar to the numbers in Nashville in 2019. Cities can see upwards of $100 million in economic impact by hosting the draft.
But back to LA - what is the logic behind the trailer? During the pandemic, teams had to virtually attend the draft, capped off by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones making draft picks from his yacht. This year, the Rams set up a Draft Room in a luxury home in Hollywood Hills, and have been releasing interviews and analysis videos from the house. The trailer is a great way to bring attention to the Rams before the draft, and bring more attention to the content they hope to create in the draft room. Only time will tell will the Rams will actually steal the draft, but with over 2.5 million views of the trailer so far, they’ve found a way to win (again).