Pure sports OTTs expand their ambitions in premium sports

Sports rights ownership has remained the preserve of traditional pay-TV providers and broadcasters, such as Sky UK and ESPN respectively, for a long time – but this is now starting to change. Video streaming services are increasingly bidding for sports rights. This includes pure sports OTTs, such as DAZN, and digital-conglomerate-led over-the-top (OTT) services, such as Amazon Prime Video. For instance, DAZN recently attempted to acquire BT Sport which hosts one of the world's most premier football tournaments, the English Premier League (EPL). In this piece, we look at the current state of pure sports OTTs and consider their future prospects.