Manchester United chief Ed Woodward expects Amazon and Facebook to compete for the Premier League television rights.

United, the record-20-time English champion, is expecting e-commerce powerhouses like Amazon and social network Facebook to pursue a slice of the live action for digital platforms.

"Absolutely I think they will enter the mix," United vice chairman Woodward said on an earnings call on Thursday."

Woodward pointed to how Amazon Prime has replaced Twitter this year as the online streaming partner for Thursday night NFL games in the United States. Facebook has also started streaming Major League Soccer games this season.

"I do think we are going to see an increasing engagement from these and we would welcome the interest (in the Premier League)," Woodward said. "It's going to be increasingly important to digitally engage with fans and we think we can be complementary to partners like this."