Amazon Prime Video (Amazon) has announced a new deal in the sports broadcasting market. The streaming platform has closed an agreement with Liga Forte Uniao (LFU) to air matches to be played by the Brazilian soccer league, Brasileirao, as from 2025 through the end of 2029 season. The agreement specifies that Amazon is granted exclusive rights to broadcast 38 matches during each season (one on each matchdate) whenever an LFU team plays in its own stadium. It will be possible for Brazilian Prime Video subscribers to view the games without any additional charge.
In this way, Amazon Prime Video adds content that is most attractive to the Brazilian audience. In addition, the OTT takes a step further within Brazil’s sports broadcasting segment, since its catalog already includes Copa do Brasil (second most important Brazilian soccer tournament) matches and NBA (US basketball) games.
Other deals related to LFU matches broadcasting rights have been announced this year. Free to Air channel Record and streaming channel CazéTV (through YouTube) will also air one game on each matchday. In both cases, the agreements include a package for free streaming platforms and TV stations (both channels air the same game on each matchday), whereas the package of rights granted to Amazon is one of the two packages for pay streaming platforms and TV channels that are available. It is expected that in the next few weeks the name of the channel or platform acquiring the other package will be known.
In a press release, LFU President Marcelo Paz asserted: “To combine the strength, the tradition and the fans of our clubs with Amazon’s technology is a great victory for our country’s soccer.”
As it has already been mentioned, this package encompasses the matches to be played by LFU teams in their own stadiums. The teams currently playing in the top division are: Corinthinas, Vasco da Gama, Cruzeiro, Internacional, Fluminense, Botafogo, Fortaleza, Athletico Paranaense, Criciuma, Juventude, Cuiaba and Atletico Goianiense. In addition, the LFU includes over 15 second division teams.
The way in which TV rights for the Brasileirao are being granted is quite new. For 2025 season, Brazilian top division soccer clubs initially decided to join for the negotiation of broadcasting rights. However, they ended up divided into two separate entities: Libra and LFU. The former, which includes Flamengo, Palmeiras and Atletico Mineiro, among other teams, has already reached an agreement with Globo for rights of all types: Free to Air, Pay TV and PPV (Pay per View).
