While some people might think that streaming services make sports more accessible to watch, I believe that it has ruined the way sports are watched.
I remember being a kid and watching my favorite players play on regular cable television, but because some streaming services have bought some of the broadcast events, it hasn’t been the same.
An example of this was seen with Thursday Night Football, which is an NFL program where two teams are scheduled to play a regular-season game on Thursday night.
Growing up, I watched it only on cable channels including, NFL Network, CBS, NBC and Fox. One thing that made CBS, NBC and Fox special in particular was that these are local channels, so even if someone didn’t have cable they could watch it with an antenna.
In 2021, the NFL changed its TV rights and made Amazon Prime Video its exclusive partner for Thursday Night Football, according to a March 18, 2021 article from CNBC.
The partnership is an 11-year media deal and is the first time a streaming service has carried a full package of games, according to the same source.
For people who only have cable or antenna, this partnership means they cannot watch live Thursday Night Football games, unless they have a subscription to Amazon Prime Video.
It doesn’t seem fair for a streaming service associated with a company that generates a lot of money to rob people of something as simple as watching a football game.
Amazon currently has a market cap value of $2.03 trillion according to a Forbes webpage. It’s not like this partnership does anything significant for the company.
Admittedly, I have been using streaming services to watch sports because I live in a college dorm, but nothing beats going back home and watching NBA and NFL games on cable.
Not only can I watch more games, but it is also very nostalgic to scroll through the TV guide and see which teams are playing each other. Not to mention, watching postgame highlights on shows including SportsCenter on ESPN.
I understand a lot of the channels found on cable can be downloaded and streamed and viewers can log in using their TV service provider. However, at the same time it seems a lot simpler just having a cable box with all your channels on it.
When it comes to cost, however, streaming takes the win. The average cost for a basic-cable TV subscription with an internet bundle is $144 according to a Feb. 202024 article from CNET, a digital media publication.
Costs of streaming plans that include ads cost $9.99 monthly while ad-free plans cost $18.99, according to a Jan. 24, 2025 article from Today. Plans with live TV cost $81.99 based on the same source.
Even with the live TV on streaming services, some sports events are exclusive to certain streaming apps.
Earlier this year, Super Bowl LIX was streamed on Tubi and Fox, according to a Feb. 11, 2025 press release from Tubi.
This meant that people who had any other streaming service without a live TV plan couldn’t watch the game, but the people who had cable could watch because Fox is a local channel on cable.
While streaming seems to be the cost-effective way to watch sports, watching events like the NBA Finals, the Super Bowl, or any other championship on cable television is a better experience than watching it on streaming services.
