DirecTV MySports A graphic for DirecTV’s MySports package. (DirecTV.)

An often-heard sentiment around how to watch sports broadcasts in 2025 is “Things were better when it was just cable.”

There’s merit to that argument, especially on paying one cost for a wide range of sports (especially when there were only limited numbers of sports shown anywhere outside that). The concept of a multichannel video programming distributor that offers a wide range of sports programming is still appealing to many.

That’s led to considerable attention for new sports-focused bundles, such as DirecTV’s MySports. And we’ll probably see more of these types of “skinny” bundles from other providers down the road, especially as the MySports launch has seen significant praise.

Notable comments on that front came from Meadowlark Media personalities John Skipper and David Samson in a recent episode of their The Sporting Class sub-show on the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast in an episode titled “The Future of Live Sports TV Is a Bundle.”

But these sports-focused Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD) bundles are far different from what was promised in Venu Sports before it was abandoned. They’re also far different from what’s available through company-specific streaming services, including Peacock, Paramount+, Prime Video, Max, Apple TV+, and ESPN+ (and even more from ESPN that will be available after ESPN Flagship’s launch this fall). The MVPD approach, the Venu Sports approach, and the individual over-the-top services are all intended for different audiences.

That makes some comments from people like Skipper and Samson seem odd. On that podcast, Skipper said things like “I guess if you buy Flagship, the question is what you get from Flagship that you don’t get from MySports,” and described Venu as  “always a temporary stopgap before [ESPN] launched Flagship…. This was always a Disney-led effort in my opinion. I thought that Disney always got the preponderance of benefit.”

Meanwhile, Samson was more critical of DirecTV and MySports, saying “They wanted to give the consumer another mirage of a choice of efficiency, and that is what these companies are trying to give consumers time and time again.” He also said, “After they started cutting the cord, they want to be savior, except really all they’re doing is making you pay the same or more, but to different platforms.”

Samson has somewhat of a point there in that the costs for MySports ($49.99 a month for a three-month promotional period, then $69.99 a month after) are significant, and are similar to what some fuller MVPD bundles that went beyond sports used to cost (even if MySports looks like one of the cheaper options out there at the moment). But this isn’t “a mirage of a choice of efficiency.” Sports-focused offerings like MySports and those that will likely follow in its wake are significantly different from what has been offered to date.

Meanwhile, as per Skipper’s comments, what we know about Flagship and MySports are remarkably different, and intended for different audiences.

Venu was far more than a “stopgap” for Disney (and was perhaps even more important for ESPN partners WBD and Fox, who each have strong arguments that they’re the ones who got “the preponderance of benefit”). But Skipper and Samson are far from the only people talking this way, and these discussions suggest that many have missed the point of each of these offerings and who they were or are for.

There essentially are four different levels worth discussing here.

One is a conventional MVPD package that looks like traditional cable or satellite, even if it’s provided via streaming, and covers sports, news, and entertainment channels. An example, to stay on the DirecTV front for ease of comparison, is their “Choice” level, which advertises 125 channels for $89.99 a month (after a 24-month discount of $10 a month), plus additional regional sports network fees and advanced receiver service fees of around $30 a month. Or, there are services like YouTube TV, offering more than 100 channels for $82.99 a month (after a six-month $10 discount).

The next level down is something like MySports, which is promising 40 sports and broadcast channels for $69.99 a month, but looks more like 27 at this point (the math difference is largely about the inclusion of free advertising-supported streaming television, or FAST, channels, which can be obtained without this package).

Then, there’s Venu, which never launched, but promised ESPN, Fox, and WBD channels (although the exact channel/streaming service content included was never clearly publicized) for $42.99 a month.

And then there are individual company streaming services. For the former Venu participants, the most notable ones are WBD’s current Max ($9.99 a month with ads, $16.99 a month without, with an expected $9.99 extra fee for the B/R Sports add-on at some point, but that isn’t in effect yet) and ESPN’s upcoming Flagship (expected at $25-30 a month). Fox doesn’t have a standalone streaming service.

Contrary to a lot of the chatter that declares one of these approaches as “best,” these each have an economic case depending on the particular fan involved. The cheapest way to watch a majority of sports is a digital antenna (a one-time cost starting at $10-20) to get local broadcast stations with subscriptions to individual streaming services to fill in the gaps.

For someone who only cares about ESPN there, antenna plus Flagship will likely be ideal once Flagship launches. (And Flagship is very much trying to capture that market of people who don’t currently have MVPD packages.) If the fan in question cares about WBD channels as well, that’s antenna + Flagship + Max w. B/R Sports. That will likely be similar to, or above, the proposed price of Venu (which would also have had FS1), so Venu would likely have been a better deal (although it remains unclear just what would have been in Venu and just what will be in Flagship).

For those who want a wider range of sports cable content, MySports has its appeal. That includes regional sports networks (although that’s mostly planned rather than definite at this point), which are largely available over the top, but at higher prices. It also includes league networks such as MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, and NHL Network, which are mostly not available over the top.

And, with the loss of Venu, MySports is the cheapest ESPN-providing option until Flagship launches. Also, for those who don’t like the idea of an antenna or aren’t able to use one in their area, MySports will get you ABC, Fox, and NBC local affiliates. It will do so in the same interface (although not all affiliates are available in all of its launch markets yet), which is a key consideration for some.

But MySports has notable omissions compared to a full MVPD package. Those include CBS local affiliates (at least for now; however, this isn’t a problem with either Paramount+ or an antenna) and cable news and entertainment channels. And for those who want a more comprehensive package overall, a full MVPD package like YouTube TV or DirectTV Choice may make the most sense. (It should be noted, however, that even those “full” packages usually don’t include all the streaming services someone might want or need; there are extra potential costs for the likes of Prime Video and Apple TV+, and those would also apply to any of the other options discussed above.)

The wider point is that there isn’t one “future of live sports TV.” The future will be different for each consumer based on what specific content they want to watch. For some, an antenna with a mix-and-match selection of streaming services will be the most efficient (and the loss of Venu is a big blow for a lot of that group, with it providing ESPN before Flagship’s launch, providing FS1, and providing a good-looking bundling deal with WBD). For others, a sports skinny bundle like MySports may work better. For others still, a full MVPD package will be the way to go. But in all discussions of this, it’s worth keeping in mind that these are different products aimed at different people and that the only real future is individual.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.