It seems as though we are close to entering a new era of how people watch sports.
With almost every professional sports league having streaming-exclusive games or events in the past couple of years, the next step was revealed Tuesday when ESPN, TNT Sports, and FOX Sports announced a new sports-only streaming platform coming later this year.
While several specifics remain unclear, the announcement alone has been enough to get people buzzing. It also has led to a lot of discourse, largely from YouTube TV users, about how necessary it will be to keep YouTube TV with the emergence of this new platform.
On3’s Andy Staples said, “So this is essentially cable for sports fans. Curious to see the price, because the only thing I watch on YouTube TV is sports. Beat the price and I probably switch.”
So this is essentially cable for sports fans.
Curious to see the price, because the only thing I watch on YouTube TV is sports. Beat the price and I probably switch. https://t.co/p6PTnRcPrh
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) February 6, 2024
Gambling content creator Dustin Gouker shared a similar sentiment, saying, “My hot take on the new streaming service is I pay for YouTube TV and almost all of my usage is for sports. If I can pretty much replace YTTV with this at a cheaper price, gimme.”
My hot take on the new streaming service is I pay for YouTube TV and almost all of my usage is for sports. If I can pretty much replace YTTV with this at a cheaper price, gimme
— Dustin Gouker (@DustinGouker) February 6, 2024
Yahoo’s Kendall Baker is very intrigued as well, saying, “Very curious to see the price. Because if it’s ultimately, say, $29.99/month for most live sports and I don’t have to get cable or YouTube TV (which IS cable) because I don’t care about news and other channels, then it’s actually way better than cable (for sports fans)”
Very curious to see the price. Because if it’s ultimately, say, $29.99/month for most live sports and I don’t have to get cable or YouTube TV (which IS cable) because I don’t care about news and other channels, then it’s actually way better than cable (for sports fans) https://t.co/k07lyE8JLp
— Kendall Baker (@kendallbaker) February 6, 2024
Not everyone is a fan, though. One YouTube TV user spoke out against the news, saying, Thinking out loud, but does this mean my YouTube TV sub isn’t gonna be enough anymore? I swear man, capitalism certainly breeds competition – a competition of who can get away with the most.”
https://twitter.com/jeravus/status/1755000275838857277
While it’s hard to say at this early point what the full impact of the new streaming service will be from ESPN, Fox, and WBD, it certainly has the potential to shake up the industry once again. Everyone will be watching to see what winners and losers emerge as more details become available.
About Robert O'Neill