FILE PHOTO: Feb 16, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; A general view of equipment on the field before the start of a New York Yankees workout during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images/File Photo
(Reuters) - Amazon said on Wednesday it will exclusively stream 21 New York Yankees regular games on its Prime Video service for the upcoming 2025 season, as streaming companies face increasing competition to broadcast live sporting events.
The baseball games will be live streamed at no extra cost to Prime Video members living in New York State, Connecticut, north and central New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania — areas that cover a majority of the fanbase of the New York Yankees.
Live sports, a prerogative of cable television for decades, is swiftly moving to digital platforms to tap the larger audience that is ditching cable TV subscriptions for digital streaming platforms.
Streaming bellwether Netflix has increased its investments towards acquiring live sports content, including high-profile events such as the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match, aiming to diversify its portfolio and attract a broader audience.
It also paid more than $5 billion to be the exclusive home of World Wrestling Entertainment's Raw in several territories from January this year and is considering a bid for Formula 1's U.S. TV rights, according to media reports.
This has prompted competing digital platforms, including Prime Video, to stream more live sporting events to drive subscriber growth and enhance their advertising revenue, as live events tend to draw large, engaged audiences.
Prime Video currently streams the NBA, Thursday Night Football, NASCAR, Seattle Kraken and Overtime Elite among others in the U.S.
(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
