The UK government is examining the rising costs and fragmentation of sports streaming services, as fans face a confusing array of subscriptions, blackouts, and advertisements. What was once hailed as a fan-friendly revolution has become an expensive maze, with multiple platforms competing for broadcasting rights.
In Major League Baseball, for example, seven providers now carry games nationally, including Apple TV, while local markets suffer from blackouts and channel churn. A dedicated New York Yankees fan could pay around £800 to access all 162 games across ten networks this season, according to The Athletic.
Even Apple TV's boss, Eddy Cue, admitted the situation has worsened. “We’ve gone backwards,” he said. “You used to buy one subscription, your cable subscription, and you got pretty much everything they had. Now, there’s so many different subscriptions, so I think that needs to be fixed.”
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred aims to centralise local rights and control all 30 teams' broadcasts by 2028, as regional sports networks go bankrupt. However, the battle between legacy broadcasters and tech giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple continues, with traditional over-the-air broadcasters calling for government intervention to prevent Big Tech from acquiring more sports rights.
The NBA's new 11-year, $76bn media deal with Disney/ESPN, Amazon, and NBC highlights the enormous sums involved. Yet, the value of exclusivity and tradition versus intermittent exposure across multiple platforms remains unclear, as leagues and broadcasters struggle to adapt to the changing landscape.
