Crystal Palace fans unfurl protest banner against Amazon Premier League deal

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Tom Dutton4 December 2019

Crystal Palace supporters staged a protest against the Premier League's deal with Amazon Prime Video during Tuesday's win over Bournemouth.

The top flight clash at Selhurst Park marked Amazon's first foray into broadcasting Premier League football, with the online streaming service delivering live coverage of Palace's 1-0 victory over Eddie Howe's side, before Manchester City's 4-1 win over Burnley.

Amazon will show all 10 midweek fixtures this week, including Jose Mourinho’s return to Old Trafford on Wednesday evening as his Tottenham side face Manchester United, and the Merseyside derby.

The service also has the rights to nine Boxing Day matches and Manchester City's trip to Wolves on December 27, after winning one of two 20-game packages in 2018.

Some Palace fans faced a scramble to get to the ground in time for the unusual kick-off time of 7.30pm, while City's trip to Turf Moor got under way 45 minutes later as Amazon staggered the start times to suit fans watching from their armchairs.

It meant people watching at home were able to see 150 minutes of uninterrupted football, and Wednesday's offering will follow a similar pattern as Everton make the short trip to Liverpool for an 8.15pm start.

The launch appeared to run smoothly, with only a few minor teething problems reported by fans on social media, but match-going supporters were less enthused as Amazon officially entered the Premier League broadcast battle.

Palace's Holmesdale Fanatics unfurled a banner which read: "Kick-offs sold to the highest bidder. Amazon profits, fans suffer."

It is not known how much Amazon paid for the package to broadcast 20-matches-a-season for the next three years.

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