I am a regular when it comes to watching sports. Even when I’m not watching my favorite teams or leagues, I enjoy tuning in to something sport-related. In today’s world, there has never been so much sports content to consume, which you’d think is the ideal situation for me and others in my shoes. However, it’s the opposite, and my frustration with watching games is growing.
A few years ago, I subscribed to ESPN+ for approximately $70 a year to gain access to a bunch of exclusive content and games. Three years later, the price has gone up to $100 for a year, and I can no longer rely only on one service to watch everything I want to.
There are times when ESPN+ loses the ability to show a game for various reasons, and I am forced to either miss the event or sign up for yet another service.
To watch everything I want, I have to be subscribed to endless different platforms and pay an obscene amount of money.
As a big hockey fan and taking a quick look at the early part of the National Hockey League schedule, I can already see multiple games I cannot watch because they are on a network I cannot access. Once again, I wonder why I even paid the steep price in the first place.
With the growth ESPN+ has seen in recent years, some games have become exclusive to ESPN+. Although I do not face the problem of watching them, many people miss out on games because they do not pay for ESPN+.
On Monday, it was announced that Ohio State’s football game next week against Purdue will be streamed exclusively on Peacock.
To watch one football game, Ohio State and Purdue fans must either be already subscribed to Peacock or pay the $5.99 monthly subscription fee for a single afternoon.
Sports being on a streaming service goes back to when NBC signed its media rights deal with the Big Ten Conference before the 2022 season. It was said there would be eight games exclusively streamed on NBC’s platform Peacock.
As a fan, I ask: Why do I pay to access NBC/NBCSN if I’m going to spend additional money to watch something I am essentially already paying for?
Another prime example of an extra service was when Amazon bought the media rights for Thursday Night Football. Instead of the game being on traditional television, a subscription to Amazon Prime became required.
In all likelihood, the streaming services will increase in price and quantity. More games will mean more streaming services needed to watch. So, for all sports fans, this is your warning that watching our favorite athletes and their teams will become more complex and expensive.
Andrew Bowlby is a sophomore studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to share your thoughts about the column? Let Andrew know by tweeting him @andrew_bowlby.
