Now, Amazon wants to be your local sports publisher
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By Dylan Byers
Amazon has bids on 22 regional sports networks, or RSN, including the New York Yankees YES network, according to sources familiar with the sales process as was not authorized to speak publicly.
CNBC reported for Amazon for the first time.
RSN are regional cable channels that usually carry live games from local professional, college and even secondary teams, as well as commentary related to those teams. In December, the investment bank Guggenheim Securities Fox appreciated the package with RSNs of $ 22.4 billion.
Disney sells the RSNs after purchasing them from 21[ads1]st Century Fox as part of its wider $ 71.3 billion acquisition of Fox's entertainment facilities. Federal regulators told Disney that it would only approve the deal if it sold the RSNs.
If Amazon win any or all of the RSNs, the acquisition would signal the biggest draw yet by a technology company in the world of sports media. In recent years, technology companies have experimented with streaming some games, but have not yet received any of the exclusive, large-scale budget offers that usually go to major broadcasters.
Owning RSN would give Amazon insight into the economy of local sports rights as well as an avenue to experiment with smaller non-national matches.
Amazon currently extends NFL's Thursday night game, which is still on TV on NFL Network and Fox's broadcasting network.
Among the RSNs for sale are Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports Detroit, Fox Sports Florida and a handful of other regional cable channels that have the rights of local professional sports teams.
Amazon has emerged as one of the biggest players in internet-delivered streaming media with the Prime Video package, which is part of its wider Amazon Prime subscription service. Amazon Prime Video offers a mix of original series and licensed movies and TV shows.
However, the addition of RSNs will mark a new addition if included with Prime Video, which gives the company a way to distinguish competitors like Netflix and Shelf.
