COMMENTARY

Sports TV Is Still 'Premium': But Can I Find It, And At What Cost?

• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 1, 2023

You would think all sports programmers -- producers, TV networks, and streaming platforms -- might figure they are in the driver’s seat these days.

Live sports TV is one of the few places for viewers and advertisers, given its immediacy, where engagement with the content is high -- and where pricing is commensurate with that attention.

Sure, linear TV viewership is down overall -- even Major League Baseball isn’t what it used to be.

For example, this year’s World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks is averaging around 9 million viewers.

But there are seemingly more dings coming for sports.

A recent consumer survey by Altman Solon says 35% believe it is too expensive to watch a broadcast of a game/event. And even worse, 30% don’t know which channel a game is on or the platform (linear or streaming).

Some of this might be due to the current situation for live, local professional sports teams and the disruption in the marketplace when it comes to regional sports networks. 

RSNs have been a particular issue with consumers over the last couple of decades when it comes to ever-higher price tags of $25-$30 a month in some cases.

Has this driven consumers to pause their local fandom? This is why newer virtual pay TV providers have taken a pass for many RSNs. The profit margins are just too thin.

But there many be a cure for these consumer ills.

Now, after decades of being out of the market, broadcast TV stations -- sensing a way to get back into the game -- have been acquiring rights to many of these local teams.

One bit of research must be music to their ears when it comes to making such a strategic move back to sports: 56% of fans say they would watch more hours of sports “if more sports were available on their main sports content platform.”

The latter part is important: Easy discovery. Surely mid-age and older viewers probably still know what that broadcast TV channel numbers in their local markets.

There is also ease of access. Viewers will not be encumbered to figure out what it will cost them if it is -- in theory -- free over the air TV. 

Still, TV stations will need to determine the pricing and financial dynamics  -- especially for retransmission revenue, and more importantly, the advertising business side.

For the latter, the hope is that the "premium" modifier attached to sports TV programming -- and the higher-priced TV commercials that come with it -- will be the difference for their new programming business.

For TV stations looking for better programming and improved viewership, this is a good deal. Consumers will be cheering them on.