Televised streaming of sports has been a pivotal part for fans around the country. Recently, sporting organizations have moved from traditional services like NBC, CBS, ESPN and Fox to offer streaming services to broadcast sporting events.
Like many avid sports fans in 2025, senior Isaiah Wiedeman watches sports using streaming services like Hulu Live TV and Prime.
“It’s making it more accessible because we’re moving more toward technology all over the world,” Wiedeman said. “As we develop streaming, it’s taking over cable so it’s making it more accessible to people.”
With more engagement with these streaming services from the sports community, companies like Netflix, have taken a step further by signing multi-stream contract deals with sports organizations such as the NFL, FIFA and WWE for exclusive broadcasting rights.
Viewership for these streams has also increased. According to Netflix, the exhibition fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was the most streamed sporting event in history — accumulating 108 million viewers for the event.
“We have a lot of options, and with as many platforms that are bidding, there’s a lot of money to be made for this sports world,” Wiedeman said. “More people are starting to watch because of it.”
Senior Sina Khosh, a college sports and NFL fan, says that there is a growing competition between traditional television broadcasts and streaming services to find their way to American homes. Despite being mainstream nowadays, streaming services have aspects that viewers might view as flaws, such as high pricing.
“It could definitely affect lower income households…,” Khosh said. “For most people, it would be more convenient to watch on the streaming platforms, but for low income families, it might be hard for them to pay those bonus fees.”
What initially started as streaming companies beginning to expand their accessibility for fans is now becoming the new norm for the future of televised sports. Junior sports follower Jerry Xu said he appreciates this new and improving culture.
“I definitely prefer streaming platforms instead of traditional TV because it breeds better quality content,” Xu said. “Streaming services are a positive because now everyone can search their devices [for] access [to more] games.”
