Amazon Prime Video Leads Global Sports Rights in 2026

Amazon Prime® logo. Amazon Prime is a registered trademark of

.com, Inc. Image in public domain.via Wikimedia Commons.

Amazon Prime Video has taken the top spot among global streaming
platforms for sports rights spending in 2026, commanding a 27% share of
the estimated \$14.2 billion that streaming services are collectively
spending on sports rights this year, according to MediaPost. The figure
places Prime Video ahead of DAZN, which holds approximately a 22% share
across more than 200 countries.

The dominance of Prime Video in sports broadcasting stems from a
combination of long-term domestic deals and expanding international
rights portfolios. In the United States, the platform holds the NFL's
Thursday Night Football package on a long-term basis. Internationally,
it has secured UEFA Champions League rights across multiple major
European markets, according to MediaPost.

The NBA Deal and Broader Strategy

The most significant recent addition to Prime Video's sports portfolio
is an 11-year NBA deal at \$1.8 billion per year, according to
MediaPost. The agreement gives Amazon a marquee domestic sports property
alongside Thursday Night Football, positioning Prime Video as a genuine
competitor to traditional broadcast and cable networks in live sports
coverage.

The NBA deal, combined with the NFL package and international soccer
rights, reflects a deliberate strategy of accumulating top-tier sports
properties across different leagues, seasons, and audience demographics.
Prime Video's approach has been to acquire rights to events with broad
national and international appeal rather than niche sports audiences.

International Originals and Content Expansion

On the content side, Prime Video unveiled an international originals
slate in early 2026, featuring new series from Spain, Colombia, and
other markets across its global footprint, according to Variety. The
slate reflects a parallel strategy of building locally relevant content
alongside the high-cost sports rights that dominate the platform's
rights budget.

That two-track model — international originals alongside dominant
sports rights — has helped Prime Video build audience scale globally
in a way that differs from Netflix's historically entertainment-first
approach. March 2026's content additions include Scarpetta and Jury
Duty Presents: Company Retreat, among others, as the platform continues
to update its entertainment library alongside its sports commitments,
according to About Amazon.

References: Prime Video Takes Crown In Global Streaming 2026 S | Prime Video International Originals Slate 2026 Spain Colombia 1236660640 | Prime Video Movies Tv Shows Originals Sports March 2026