Thus far, the technology companies have taken smaller steps, such as Facebook's deal to carry 20 Major League Baseball games and show highlights from NFL games. Amazon struck an agreement giving its Prime members access to 10 NFL games on Thursday nights and ATP tennis matches.
"We know live sports attracts a passionate fan base, many of whom are Prime members," Greg Hart, vice president of Amazon Video, said.
Facebook offered NZ$837 million for the digital rights to cricket matches in India, but ultimately was outbid. The social-media company is interested in live rights, but is still working out its approach, according to Dan Reed, head of sports. It hasn't committed to bidding on Premier League matches next year, he said at a roundtable interview Wednesday.
"It is premature to speculate how we might approach that," Reed said. The company is trying to balance partnering with media companies that post material to Facebook, with competing against the broadcasters in bids for sports licenses. "It's still very early days," he said. "There is no template."
Without new bidders from Silicon Valley, the Premier League and its 20 clubs might have a harder time matching the expiring domestic rights deal. In the latest round, BT Group Plc and Sky Plc forked over a combined 1.7 billion pounds a year, up from 1.1 billion pounds, for live broadcast rights. The league sells its overseas rights, which are the most highly coveted in Europe, in separate packages.
The rising cost of the sports has already hurt media companies' bottom lines. For Sky, the increased costs of Premier League games contributed to a 6.2 per cent drop in operating profit in the year ended in June. BT, which has been using its sports channels to encourage customers to hang on to its broadband packages, has been hit financially by an accounting fraud in Italy and is grappling with a large deficit in its pension fund.
As technology companies show more interest in sports, the Premier League is mulling new ways to package its content. At a meeting on Wednesday, advisers to the league's owners presented different options for carving up the rights. The clubs "unanimously agreed to adjourn the meeting to allow further discussion," according to an emailed statement from the league.
Currently, Sky screens 126 matches in five slots, costing an average of about 11 million pounds per match. BT carries the other Premier League games, and also has the rights to Europe's elite soccer tournament, the Champions League.
The arrival of digital businesses could have far-reaching implications for media companies. Sky built its business on the back of Premier League football, attracting a core audience of 4 million to 5 million households who mainly subscribed to Sky for sports.
In recent years, influenced by the loss of Champions League to BT in 2013, the UK-based satellite broadcaster has expanded its original programming and has attempted to broaden its appeal to the whole family rather than just sports enthusiasts.
Speaking at a sports conference in London on Wednesday, Sorrell said he doubted traditional broadcasters would lose the rights. The matches are too valuable to their business, he said. They may just have to pay up.
