The Amazon Prime Video streaming division of the global retail heavyweight has brought in Michael Edelston to join its European media rights team.
Edelston joins from Formula E, the international electric car racing series, where he spent three years in a senior media rights position.
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Before that, he served as the English Premier League soccer property’s head of media sales for Asia-Pacific until October 2021.
Edelston posted on the Linkedin platform yesterday: "I'm delighted to announce that this week I started in the EU live sports team at Prime Video & Amazon … I look forward to continuing to build on the already compelling sports offering for Prime members.”
Edelston will work alongside Tim Wood, head of sports rights and content for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Prime Video.
He spent a decade with the Premier League, joining from the heavyweight IMG agency.
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By GlobalDataPrime Video, meanwhile, holds multiple top-tier sporting rights across a range of key European markets – including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
These include UEFA Champions League top-tier soccer rights in the UK, Italy, and Germany, and rights to domestic premier soccer action in the UK and France. Major tennis rights in France and Germany also form part of the offering.
Globally, including multiple major European markets, the streaming service also holds a package of rights to women's basketball's WNBA.
For Formula E, meanwhile, this departure comes after the series claimed to secured record TV audience growth during its 2023-24 campaign.
The series grew its global cumulative TV viewership by 35% during its 10th season (which ended in London in mid-July), to 491 million worldwide.
In addition, the Monaco e-Prix on April 27 delivered the largest-ever race audience in history for Formula E, bringing in 40 million viewers.
The 2024-25 Formula E season begins in Brazil on December 7, with 17 races across 11 locations taking place in total. The campaign will end in London next July.
Edelston has been replaced at Formula E by Jonathan Salt, who was previously the series' director of media and business affairs – he has now been promoted to vice president, and is taking on an expanded role.
Salt, in total, has been at Formula E since November 2020.
