With live sport, cable offerings and TV in general becoming less of an option for fans due to rising costs, streaming is starting to become the preferred source for live sport. Thanks to online services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, sports fans can watch all the games they want at their convenience. While it may not be the perfect match for viewing on TV or even in person with friends or family who don’t have access to these services, it definitely changes the paradigm of what people are used to seeing during prime time. sporting events.
April is an exciting time for sports fans in the United States, as it signals that the next season for a major sport is just months away. In this case, it was not just any sport, but baseball and basketball. A week before the start of the NBA playoffs, the latter took place without any notice. Almost all matches were broadcast on national television channels (TNT and ESPN). This means that most matches can be streamed live on cable or via streaming services with a subscription.
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In recent years, streaming has become a no-brainer for sports fans, but Major League Baseball has yet to take part in this movement.
As more and more people turn to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, MLB decided to dabble in the field with a series of streaming tests in 2015. The two types of tests were:
1. Streaming of individual games on MLB.TV for a fee.
2. Streaming live games on MLB.com for free with ads.
Both of these tests weren’t quite conclusive for one reason or another, but they did show that this was a viable option Major League Baseball could consider in the future.
Major League Baseball isn’t the only league doing this. Many major sports leagues have already started to embrace streaming as a way to make money and grow their fan base. That’s what the National Hockey League (NHL) did starting in 2009 with its GameCenter Live service, which allowed fans to purchase individual games or an all-season package with virtually no hassle. The NHL is also one of the few leagues to offer a free streaming option for its games.
The National Football League (NFL) has two options for those looking for live streaming options. The first is the league’s own streaming subscription service, called NFL Game Pass. It allows fans to access all games for free with a one-year subscription. The other option is to buy the NFL Sunday Ticket package. This allows fans to watch any game from the 2016 season (up to week 8) for a one-time fee of $280 or $55 per month, depending on the package chosen.
American sports leagues have embraced streaming in other ways as well.
Major League Soccer (MLS) has been offering its MLS Live service since 2009, which allows its fans to watch all out-of-market games via their computer or mobile devices.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) also offers multiple streaming options with NBA League Pass and NBA G League Pass. The League Pass is for people who want to watch a full season of matches rather than individual matches. The G League Pass was created more for young players who are developing their skills outside of basketball in high school and college.
The NHL and NBA both offer free streaming services, NHL GameCenter and the NBA’s free League Pass Broadband service; however, they come with specific restrictions.
Streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, BT Sport and even Twitch can also provide streaming services for sports as a whole, which some like Amazon and BT Sport already do, albeit for a fee. but they do it pretty well. As for Twitch, it could also make a big inroad in live sports streaming, since gamers are already using it to stream their games. Some sports networks might also opt for this method because the only things they need to get customers are a twitch banner attractive and a good advertisement to let sports fans know about their content which would be broadcast on this streaming giant.
However, the most important question facing the big sports industries is: Are people willing to pay for streaming? If so, what price? There are obviously people who would be willing to spend money on streaming sports. However, it depends on the cost and the quality of the streaming. Many professional leagues have tried this concept of paid streaming of live matches or single matches and failed miserably. That doesn’t mean they can’t be successful, but they have to make sure they do it right from the start.
Streaming is a growing industry that most major sports leagues are going to have to take part in at some point. There will be growing pains, but once the issues are resolved, sports fans everywhere should be able to enjoy their favorite sporting events wherever and whenever they want.
The problem with streaming is that it increases costs for the consumer and also makes it difficult for people who don’t have cable or TV to watch the games.
