Fixing Sports Streaming

Let’s face it: streaming sports is not the game-changer everyone thought it would be when media companies started launching their own streaming platforms. Fans were told there would be more inventory, more access, and more ways to watch. While all of that may be technically true, the cold hard reality is fans are being forced to pay more to watch their favorite teams and it can be difficult to figure out which streaming platform a game is on.

Full disclosure: I have had Version FiOS for the last seven years with zero complaints. Every time I’ve thought it’s been time to cut the cord I’ve done the math, gone through the bundle exercise, and concluded it simply is not worth it. But times they are a changin’ and I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hold out. Case in point…

I’m a casual Yankees fan that watches games when I can but I’m not living and dying with every ball or strike. Setting aside the issues between cable bundles and RSNs, in New York fans have been programmed to go to the YES Network for Yankees coverage – it is the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network after all. If for some reason a game isn’t on YES, my next move is to check out the local MY9 station. Still nothing? Must be a nationally televised game on ESPN… or maybe TBS. Still nothing. Time to go to the ESPN app and see if it’s listed. Nope. Google please help! Apple TV+… for a Yankees vs. Red Sox game?! If it sounds like I’m being hyperbolic, well, I’m not. This exact scenario played out on Friday, September 23rd as Aaron Judge chased the home run record last Fall. ?

This line from a recent CNBC report on ESPN’s sports hub plans is telling:

“A New York Yankees game for a New York-area fan could air on linear TV on the YES Network, ESPN or?Warner Bros. Discovery’s TBS, or it could stream on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ or NBCUniversal’s Peacock.”

I didn’t know about the Apple TV+ exclusive Friday night stream last season, and I still don’t know when or how Amazon Prime Video or Peacock come into play. Don’t get me wrong, I am unabashed lover of the NFL Thursday Night game on Amazon Prime Video, but a couple things are unique about that:

1.?????It’s the only NFL game on in that window

2.?????Prime Video comes with the indispensable (in our household) Amazon Prime subscription

Amazon also completely reimagined the NFL broadcast with multiple streams, including my personal favorite Prime Vision. By all means, let me know if Apple TV+ is somehow innovating on the common baseball broadcast structure, but color me skeptical.

If this sounds like an acute problem or me just bemoaning missing a Yanks-Sawx battle, check out this list of recent streaming sports deals that include exclusive pay-walled content:

·???????NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube – Finally, the DirecTV nightmare came to an end, but at least those channels were available right alongside your standard cable fare. Now? You’ll have to navigate to a YouTube TV app. Not so bad once a week.

·???????MLS and Apple TV+ - There’s a lot to like for MLS fans in the new Apple TV+ exclusive deal, including standardized start times and production innovation, but if you’re a fan of your local MLS team, is it worth ponying up for Apple TV+ to access all the other matches? The MLS isn’t exactly the NFL when it comes to being a national brand.

·???????Notre Dame and Peacock – No one reallllly cares about Toledo or UNLV. But what if NBCUniversal takes a bigger swing in year three with the Navy game? Or the USC game?

·???????I won’t make this a college football rights discussion because frankly it’s too tangled at the moment and it’s hard for me to keep it all straight. But it looks like a majority of the Pac-12 media rights are heading to a streaming-only platform. Wave of the future? Or the final blow to a league that has increasingly fallen behind?

·???????Not a football fan? Well buckle up, because the fun is just getting started for MLB, the NBA and NHL after Diamond Sports Group missed a recent interest payment and could be facing bankruptcy. According to the Sinclair Broadcasting website, Diamond Sports Group has 19 owned-and-operated RSNs covering more than half of MLB, NHL, and NBA teams in the US. It may not matter for the remainder of the 2022-2023 NBA and NHL seasons, but trouble is brewing for MLB.

I have focused on the accessibility troubles of streaming live sports, but there are other hurdles to consider, as well. The price for standalone apps is borderline outrageous and if you need multiple services those costs quickly add up (hence, why I still have FiOS). The newly created MSG+ offering Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, and Sabres games comes in at $29.99 monthly or $10 for an individual game. LA Clippers fans can enjoy ClipperVision with multiple streams and extras for $199 per season. Sadly for fans, this is just the start as media companies transition from a subscriber-growth-at-all-costs strategy to one where they prioritize revenue. If this sounds familiar, Netflix is in the same boat.

Fixing Sports Streaming

Media companies and sports properties are currently stuck in no-man’s land with the lack of clarity falling on the shoulders of sports fans. Fortunately, signs are beginning to emerge of a world where everything isn’t so complicated. ESPN wants to re-stake it’s claim as the Worldwide Leader in Sports by creating a sports hub within its app. The goal is become the go-to source for broadcast and streaming platforms for sports fans. Fans in some cases will be able to link directly to a non-ESPN app to view their desired game. Right now, the ESPN app only allows fans to do this for contests available on ESPN+. The thinking here is that by becoming the initial search destination ESPN will be able to grow its own offerings and exposure across its networks and ESPN+.

Using my Yankees conundrum from earlier, instead of defaulting to the YES Network I would go to the ESPN app to find out where the Yankees game is on. If it’s on Apple TV+ I would be able to click right through to the game in the Apple TV+ app from ESPN+. The same would go for Amazon Prime Video and potentially RSN streams from Diamond Sport’s Bally Sports+ or the newly created MSG+.

While this is a step in the right direction, it’s really just a band-aid on the real problem. Having a digital sports stream version of TV Guide will be helpful for finding games but it doesn’t alleviate the issues of navigating to and from each app or help with the cost.

One of the things I enjoy most about Verizon FiOS is the inclusion of YouTube and Netflix channels directly in the channel guide. I get my local network channels, my cable bundle, and I have YouTube on channel 837 and Netflix on channel 838. I had to log in to my accounts the first time but after that it’s been smooth sailing. I believe this is the answer to the access problem, and Verizon appears to be leaning in. The company in December announced early access to the beta version of what it calls +play. According to the press release:

“+play builds on the content Verizon already offers through 
leading content providers including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, discovery+ 
and AMC+, all of which are featured in the new service, and introduces 
new subscription service partners, like NFL+, NBA League Pass, HBO Max, 
Netflix, Peloton, A+E Networks (Lifetime Movie Club, HISTORY Vault, 
and A&E Crime Central), The Athletic, Calm and Duolingo, among many 
others – with more to come in 2023.”

- Verizon, December 14th, 2022        

Will cord cutters be willing to re-cord for this type of service or are those customers lost forever? And while there’s no additional cost for Verizon +play fans will still need individual subscriptions to access everything they want. But at least it’s a start!

What fans really need is a real-time, no lag, no delay streaming platform that incorporates the traditional cable bundle channels and all the streams into one low cost offering accessible anywhere, on any device, at any time. I’m not going to hold my breath on that one, but I do think it’s time to re-up my FiOS!

Thanks for reading!?

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