For decades, sports media was dominated by a few huge companies that controlled almost every game available for fans to consume. Large national networks such as CBS, NBC and ESPN ruled the cable television era of sports broadcasting, working with regional providers to bring local teams’ games to viewers. Then, about a decade ago, streaming services such as Hulu, ESPN+, Amazon Prime and Peacock started offering live sports and changing the way fans view games.
Over her career as a sports journalist and editor for the Los Angeles Times, Iliana Limón Romero has seen how streaming platforms have created new opportunities for consumers. While fans used to be limited to just a few options chosen for them by broadcasters, they can now view almost every major sports event on the planet.
“Let’s say you’ve become obsessed with LaLiga in Spain. This current era is best for you,” Romero said. “You don’t have to find an obscure satellite television network or try to follow audio versions or seek obscure areas, because one of the streaming services will carry this now. You’ll be able to follow every single game without obstruction.”
While streaming has helped some fans, sophomore and avid sports fan Dillon Kennedy is concerned about what the future of sports media holds. Each year teams become more and more difficult to follow and costs continue to rise as more media deals are inked and the sports entertainment landscape gets more complicated.
“Right now I pay for around eight subscriptions, and that number has gone up with the recent exclusive streaming rights that sports teams and leagues have signed,” Kennedy said. “If I ever want to watch a Premier League game I’d go to Peacock, but then not all NFL games are on Peacock so I’d have to get more and more streaming platforms.”
With all the different providers and places to view games, fans looking for certain events or who want to see a wider variety of offerings have struggled recently.
“If you have diverse interests, it can be really frustrating because it can be expensive and hard to understand where everything is,” Romero said. “One of the most searched and engaged things that we provide is our TV listings that include streaming, because then people will know what’s on each day. In some cases, there are flexibilities in contracts that allow networks to pick a more favorable matchup and switch at the last minute what is airing in what window.”
The rise of exclusive deals between streaming services and teams has added another layer of difficulty for fans who wish to follow one team exclusively.
“I think it is very difficult, especially with sports like baseball, hockey or basketball because of the amount of games that they play,” Kennedy said. “If I ever wanted to watch a big time Mavs game I might not be able to get it because of the different streaming services, and if I want to watch it I end up paying more money.”
Many of the issues with following local teams is due to the death of regional broadcasters. Bally Sports Southwest was the main broadcaster of the Stars, Rangers and Mavericks games to the metroplex area until the company filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Teams then struggled to find new partners or broadcast the game themselves.
“The rights to (broadcast) and the expenses are tricky. It’s easier when you’re doing an entire package for a whole league,” Romero said. “But when you have a mix of local and national coverage, that’s when you get into individual agreements and start to run into issues where some regional networks have difficulty with a sustainable model.”
Often this complex web of streaming services and deals creates last-minute panic when fans want to watch a game without spending more money on exclusives.
“I was trying to watch an Ohio State football game this year that was exclusive to BIG 10+, but I don’t have that,” Kennedy said. “I missed an entire football game trying to figure out how to get it and wondering how much money I would end up spending.”
While consumers have been frustrated by some parts of the streaming experience, their feedback can actually help improve broadcast quality as services try to keep viewership and consumer loyalty.
“If sports fans aren’t happy with the quality of the products, they say it loudly, and they let the networks know. They voice their opinions and can push back by turning things off or looking for alternatives,” Romero said. “The feedback is instant because the audience is highly engaged. I do think that as much as people are really committed to live sports, there’s a reason teams, leagues and businesses go out of their way to court audiences.”
While it’s impossible to predict the future, Romero believes that future consolidation of media could help consumers.
“We’re looking at an era of media consolidation where some of the different streaming platforms and networks are starting to get bundled together,” Romero said. “Thus, some of those platforms will be available under one umbrella and make it a little bit better. There is a limit to what the American consumer can afford and is willing to pay, but we haven’t hit it yet.”
Despite the drawbacks, the variety of services encourages collaboration among friends to watch the games together.
“It is not fun to have to switch apps to try to find the game that you want to watch and you just end up spending more time trying to find the game than actually watching,” Kennedy said. “But it also allows you to be with friends and watch the games together because if you don’t have a certain platform then you all go over to the friends house that does and watch the game.”