The Future of Sports and Streaming

Watching football games on Monday Night is changing. According to an article by the Wall Street Journal, it was just announced on May 13th that Netflix has brokered a deal with the National Football League (NFL) to stream three regular season NFL games. This deal is anticipated to have Netflix show an additional three games on Thanksgiving, at the end of the season, and during their international games. Prior to this four year deal, Netflix had already started streaming an NFL game on Christmas, something that will continue on in the new agreement. Netflix’s investment into live sports was decided as a way to keep subscribers and bring in advertising for the games. 

Before the introduction of streaming services, football games were primarily available on major television networks such as CBS, ESPN, FOX, and NBC. Today though, we are seeing more games and other sports being available solely on streaming platforms like ESPN+ or Prime Video. As mentioned in my previous blog post about the merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount, these two companies and others such as Disney own a majority of television networks that stream sports. With CBS being owned by Paramount, games are usually available on their streaming platform and on cable but with this change of sports being available online only, this creates uncertainty for cable television networks who now no longer have sole rights and control over broadcasting of games. 

Having live sporting events on streaming platforms allows companies to charge an additional fee to stream on top of their subscription. For Netflix, this deal with the NFL allows for more growth in subscribers and better market competition against competitors like Amazon and Disney. While companies may benefit from the additional price hike, we live in an economy where consumers are always looking for affordability. With rising subscription prices for both streaming and cable services, viewers are forced to decide where they want to be spending their money. For sports fans, the number of games being available exclusively on streaming platforms reduces the necessity for cable television but rather an additional cost for individuals. While this seems like it might be a benefit for viewers to have their games on streaming platforms, viewers need to be aware that various sporting events are available on a multitude of platforms and would need to pay more for additional services.   

As streaming platforms continue to invest into live sporting events, competition for broadcasting rights will continue to grow. Streaming services will increasingly compete for exclusive rights to games. As a result, both cable television and streaming services will change how fans watch and experience their favorite sports in the future.