Prime Video snags exclusive 2024 MLC season broadcast rights for ANZ

Cognizant Major League Cricket is partnering with Prime Video to give the latter exclusive broadcast rights within New Zealand and Australia for this year’s MLC season.

The announcement:
Prime Video and Cognizant Major League Cricket (MLC) today announced a partnership to grant Prime Video exclusive broadcast rights in Australia and New Zealand for the 2024 MLC season. All 25 matches will be available on Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand from 6 July – 29 July local time (5 July – 28 July in the USA) at no extra cost to a Prime or Prime Video membership.

The announcement comes off the back of a hugely entertaining ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which saw co-host USA progress to the Super Eight stage in their tournament debut. The second season of MLC will provide a stage for the best international T20 superstars to compete alongside the USA’s top domestic players from six major cities: Dallas, San Francisco, New York City, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C. Across the six teams, eight Australian players and five New Zealander players have been confirmed to participate in the tournament. Key signings include:

• Australian Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins joins the San Francisco Unicorns alongside bowler Josh Inglis, batter Jake Fraser-McGurk, and New Zealand all-rounder Matt Henry.
• Seattle Orcas have nabbed Kiwi batsman Michael Bracewell and bowler Lance Morris.
• Washington Freedom have secured Ricky Ponting as coach, as well as Australian batters Steve Smith, Travis Head, and Glenn Maxwell. New Zealand’s bowlers Rachin Ravindra and Lockie Ferguson are also named in the squad.
• MI New York will see batter Tim David and bowler Trent Boult return for a second season.
• Australian bowler Adam Zampa will join the Los Angeles Knight Riders.

“At Prime Video, we are always looking for ways to deliver more value to our customers across our movies, TV series and live sports offerings,” said Hushidar Kharas, head of Prime Video Australia and New Zealand. “The feedback from cricket fans in Australia for our first major event, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, has been really positive and we are delighted to expand our live sports offering through the Cognizant Major League Cricket. We are also excited to offer our customers in New Zealand the first live sports event included in their Prime Video membership.”

“We are thrilled to announce Prime Video as our broadcast partner for Cognizant Major League Cricket in New Zealand and Australia,” said MLC’s CEO, Vijay Srinivasan. “This partnership marks a significant milestone in our journey to grow the season, which is in it’s second year, as well as bring the excitement of cricket to fans across the globe. Prime Video has solidified its position as a premier destination for cricket enthusiasts in Australia and New Zealand, showcasing major events such as the World Cup and acclaimed series such as The Test. MLC eagerly anticipates joining this platform, poised to contribute thrilling cricket action to its global audience through Prime Video’s extensive reach and expertise.”

Prime Video is a premier entertainment destination where millions of viewers around the world can enjoy their favourite content. It has demonstrated its commitment to delivering premier sports viewing to Australian and New Zealand audiences through a series of acclaimed documentaries. These include The Test S1-S3, Making Their Mark, Shane, Warriors on the Field, and Kick Like Tayla. In Australia, Prime members cheered on the Australian team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, who made it to the Super 8. The T20 World Cup Women’s tournament will commence in October this year.

Since 2019, Prime Video has commissioned 29 Amazon Originals in Australia — The Test S1-S3, LOL: Last One Laughing Australia with Rebel Wilson, a series of 10 stand-up comedy specials, Back to the Rafters, Luxe Listings Sydney S1 – S3, The Moth Effect, Making Their Mark, Warriors on the Field, Kick Like Tayla, award-winning, feature-length documentary Burning, Head Above Water, Class of ’07, Deadloch, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, the lifestyle special Hugh van Cuylenburg: G.E.M, a series of five stand-up comedy specials, Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles, Neighbours, Five Blind Dates, Dance Life, the upcoming The Office, The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Top End Bub.

Prime members in Australia and Prime Video customers in New Zealand will be able to watch all live MLC matches anywhere and anytime on their Prime Video app for smart TVs, mobile devices, Fire TV, Fire TV stick, Fire tablets, Apple TV, and stream online. In the Prime Video app, Prime Video customers can download matches on their mobile devices and tablets and watch anywhere offline at no additional cost. Mumbrella