Amazon is investing in US local TV network Diamond Sports Group, a major sports rights holder as the streaming giants push further into offering live sport.

Diamond Sports is the leading network of local sports channels in the United States, holding regional broadcast rights to more than half of the teams in the top basketball, baseball and ice hockey leagues.

Under the terms of the deal announced on Wednesday, Diamond Sports channels will be available on Prime Video for an additional subscription fee.

The deal will lift the company out of bankruptcy proceedings after it was crushed under the weight of a colossal debt contracted when TV group Sinclair acquired Diamond from Disney in 2019.

According to the New York Post, the e-commerce behemoth paid some $100 million for its participation.

Diamond Sports and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests to comment on the figure.

Amazon has acquired certain rights to the English Premier League, the French Ligue 1, the French Open tennis tournament and the NFL American football league.

Amazon's hunger for live sports has been matched in recent years by several streaming players, including Apple TV which owns global rights for US major league football (soccer).

© 2024 AFP