NEW YORK: Prime Video and Overtime Elite (OTE) Thursday announced a multiyear agreement for exclusive global streaming rights to 20 live games per season for the next three seasons, beginning November 4, making Amazon’s OTT platform OTE’s first global media rights partner.
In addition to broadcast rights, Prime Video will exclusively stream a season-long unscripted series set to debut in mid-2023. Amazon has also made an investment in Overtime as part of its Series D funding round.
OTE is a six-team basketball league featuring top 16-20-year-old players from around the world. The teams in the league are the YNG Dreamerz, Cold Hearts, City Reapers, Bruins, Falcons, and Rams. While playing in the league, players receive cutting-edge training and unparalleled resources to prepare them for college and professional basketball.
“This collaboration with Prime Video is an exciting move for Overtime Elite, affording us the opportunity to reach even more sports fans,” said Dan Porter, Overtime co-founder and CEO. “…we are thrilled to showcase Overtime Elite and our fan-first approach in front of Amazon’s global audience.”
“Like Overtime, we hold a mutual commitment to serving the next generation of sports fans, and we are proud to join Overtime on their journey as the league continues to see tremendous growth,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video at Amazon.
The 20 OTE games will air live on Prime Video on Friday and Saturday nights, broadcast from OTE Arena in Atlanta. The larger on-air broadcast team will include AMP, the sports-and-gaming-focused social media group boasting over 2 million followers across platforms.
Every OTE player is offered a six-figure salary, with a guaranteed minimum salary of $100,000 per year, plus bonuses and shares of equity in Overtime. In addition, players earn revenue from use of their name, image, and likeness, including through sales of custom jerseys, trading cards, video games, and NFTs. Starting this season, players can choose between a scholarship or salary option.
Later this season in 2023, Amazon Music will curate musical performances for select OTE broadcasts from industry artists.
OTE on Prime Video will be available across hundreds of compatible devices worldwide as part of a Prime membership.
Prime Video supports a growing lineup of live sports globally, including New Zealand Cricket in India; Australian Swimming globally; Thursday Night Football, the WNBA, the Seattle Storm, the New York Yankees, and Seattle Sounders FC in the United States; ONE Championship in the United States and Canada; Premier League in the United Kingdom; US Open Tennis, ATP, and WTA in the United Kingdom and Ireland; UEFA Champions League football in Germany and Italy; Roland-Garros and Ligue 1 in France.
