(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc. is reaping the benefits of Emma Raducanu’s sensational progress to the U.S. Open tennis final, since its Prime Video streaming service holds exclusive rights to show the match in the U.K. teenager’s home market.
Raducanu is the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final, where she’ll meet 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez. The 18-year-old Briton made her major tournament debut earlier this year, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon before pulling out with breathing difficulties.
Either Raducanu or Fernandez will take home the winner’s paycheck of $2.5 million. That’s more than double their combined career winnings so far.
The U.S. Open has been one of the core properties for Amazon Prime since it began showing live sport in the U.K. in 2018. The BBC, which extended its contract to broadcast tennis from Wimbledon until 2027 earlier this year, said today it will show highlights of the U.S. event on Sunday afternoon.
In Canada, the match will be on TSN, the sports cable channel controlled by BCE Inc.’s media division, which has long held U.S. Open broadcast rights. It’s the second time in three years the network has gained from a Canadian teenager’s surprise run. When Bianca Andreescu won the tournament in 2019, the championship final attracted a peak audience of 5.3 million viewers — nearly 15% of the country’s population.
Amazon Prime increased subscribers by 22% in six months to reach 12.5 million U.K. households as of the second quarter, according to the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board. That’s a bigger increase than market leader Netflix Inc., which gained about 10% to 16.8 million households.
Viewers can access the match by signing up for a free 30-day trial to Amazon Prime, normally 7.99 pounds a month ($11). Meanwhile Toby Perkins, the Labor member of parliament for Chesterfield, is calling for it to be shown free on TV.
Amazon could benefit from a deal with a free broadcaster or streamer, said Minal Modha of London-based media consultancy Ampere Analysis. An Amazon spokesman declined to comment on whether it was in talks with a free-to-air partner.
“It would help them showcase their sports production values and potentially attract a wider sports audience to their platform,” Modha said. It would also mirror other trends in the market, with streamers like DAZN partnering with YouTube for women’s soccer.
Amazon, which started its sports coverage with golf, shows a select group of Premier League soccer matches in the U.K. around the Christmas period, but remains a relative minnow in the sports broadcasting world.
Amazon also took a gamble on French soccer, becoming the dominant rights owner shortly before the world’s best player, Lionel Messi, joined Paris Saint-Germain FC.
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