Being a sports fan keeps getting more expensive
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Sports fans aren't happy with how much it costs them to watch their favorite leagues.
The big picture: Streaming services have become the home for the world's biggest games, making it increasingly hard — and expensive — for fans to find the games they want.
- About 40% of sports fans use streaming platforms such as ESPN+, MLB TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, or NBA League Pass to watch games — and that includes 60% of super fans, per an AP-NORC poll.
- Yet only about 50% of those who follow sports via streaming or TV are satisfied with how available games are.
State of play: Subscribing to every live‑sports platform requires thousands per year, the NYT reports.
- Nationally, leagues like the NFL and NBA have carved up the rights to their highest-profile games across broadcast channels, cable channels and streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max.
- Leagues also offer their own streaming packages, mostly for hardcore fans — but those don't include the big games that air on networks or other streamers.
- Locally, fans must navigate a convoluted rights ecosystem to catch regional games.
Case in point: For its upcoming season, the NBA plans to air games nationally every day of the week.
- Under the league's new media‑rights deal, games will stream on NBC, Peacock, ABC, ESPN, Amazon Prime and NBA League Pass.
- Subscribing to basic versions of Peacock, ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and NBA League Pass would run you roughly $690 per year (or $63.96 per month). And that's just the NBA.
What they're saying: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver recently addressed these frustrations by saying fans don't need to watch full games — which prompted a further backlash from those who felt the commissioner was pooh-poohing his own league's product.
- "There's a huge amount of our content that people can essentially consume for free," Silver said at a press conference. "I mean this is very much a highlights-based sport. So Instagram, TikTok, Twitter — you name it. .... There's an enormous amount of content out there."
- The other side: "Adam definitely whiffed on this one," former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote on X.
Reality check: Silver may not be far off from how the public feels. The public watches about as many highlights as full games, per AP.
The bottom line: Streaming services and broadcasters have paid billions of dollars for the rights to show sports. For those numbers to increase, leagues will need the disgruntled fans to keep watching.
