Diamond Sports Group, which is known for its Bally regional sport networks, did not pay its latest payment to the San Diego Padres in this past week. A snowball began to roll downhill.
Major League Baseball produced Padres’ games, and the loud ringing bell heard by some was the death knell for the regional sports networks as we know them.
MLB is known to want all 30 teams available on a streaming umbrella service. Orange is the next black, and 50 is now 40. Streaming services want to be the next cable. Live sports, which were once broadcasted to your living room free of charge and then dispensed on your TV screen for a monthly cable fee, are now slowly making their way to streaming platforms.
Although an all-encompassing MLB streaming network might be a long way off, it would be another step towards major sports hiding some of their products behind paywalls for streaming services. Cable has a huge advantage over streaming when it comes to live sports. Some teams even have their own networks. This advantage could be on the wane.
You say, “It’s impossible!” Remember how events that appeared to be destined for the networks — like the Rose Bowl – were moved from the network to cable decades before. Can such events be found on streaming services, as cable continues its decline and sports seek new revenue streams?
Golf Today’s studio in Stamford, Connecticut. (Photo: Golf Channel/NBC Sports)
Take a moment to consider:
- Apple TV offers a Major League Baseball doubleheader only to subscribers who pay the monthly fee. If, for example, the Los Angeles Dodgers were selected, then that game would not be available on SportsNet L.A. that night, the Dodgers cable home.
- The NFL, which is the most popular sport in America, has announced that a wildcard playoff game will be exclusively broadcast on a streaming platform. This game will be broadcast exclusively on Peacock by NBCUniversal on January 13, 2024. On that same day, NBC will broadcast a second wildcard game.
- Amazon Prime is already the home of Thursday night NFL games. This season, the NFL’s Sunday Ticket will be moving to YouTube. Fans can now access games in other markets.
- Fans of golf already know that ESPN+ and Peacock offer early round play during the week as well as early morning play at weekends.
- Masters.com is the place to go for golf fans who want to watch the Masters. It includes the CBS broadcast, as well as a focus on specific holes or players as well as featured groups. ESPN+ also has some Masters coverage.
This does not mean that the Super Bowl is going to be owned by Paramount+ or Peacock any time soon. But it certainly points towards a future where streaming services will allow teams and leagues to control the broadcasts. As usual, the NFL seems to be in front of the curve.
Imagine a world in which the PGA Tour had its own streaming service that provided on-demand coverage for its events, from the regular Tour to PGA Tour Champions and the Korn Ferry Tour.
Perhaps that is the best way to promote the LPGA’s tour than other broadcast outlets.
While cord-cutting has eroded cable’s relevancy, streaming services also have their own problems. CNN+ was one of the first to shut down. They all cost money and some of them offer more than the viewer wants. Disney Plus can, for example, offer Hulu or ESPN+.
Mickey Mouse and PGA Tour both attract similar audiences. If you look at all the sports that are moving to streaming, suddenly the costs for multiple streaming services start to rival cable.
Certain things are certain. In the months and years to come, more and more sports will move to streaming services. Fans will complain about paying to watch. You may not think that some major events are going to be streamed, but just recall when college bowl games were on major networks and then moved to cable. It can’t be that long until the Rose Bowl is on Peacock.
Larry Bohannan writes about golf for The Desert Sun. The Desert Sun is part of the USA Today Network. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at [email protected].
