Thanks again for the great sports business questions. As always, I answered those I could and picked the best question from topics that got multiple, similar submissions. Questions have been edited for clarity and length. Let’s dive in …
How long before Apple and Amazon become the main two streaming/content delivery platforms for sports? Both could buy all live sports rights tomorrow and have blank cheques for other content! Is it only a matter of time before the others all crumble? Or will we always have to have a Netflix or Disney+ along with either Apple or Amazon Prime?
— Alex M.
We’re still in streaming’s infancy, so there is room for all of them right now. I do expect consolidation eventually across the streaming world, just like we saw with linear TV and cable over the decades. It also depends on the appetite for anti-trust regulators to police streaming. Buying every sport would make for a monopoly, and also would be unrealistically expensive – beyond the means of any company. The sports don’t want to be all bundled together, either.
Based on market cap, both the Fox and CBS broadcast networks look like potential merger and acquisition targets. There has also been speculation that Comcast/NBC and Paramount/CBS could be potential merger partners – with one of the broadcast networks having to be divested. Could you see Amazon, Apple, or Discovery/Turner/HBO trying to acquire a broadcast network? What would the implications be for sports?
— Robby W.
If the price is right, and regulators don’t kill it, I don’t see why tires wouldn’t be kicked on such a deal. For sports, it could mean the field of potential rights bidders is reduced, but also that a combined entity may have more leverage for enormous spending. Consolidation and M&A have been part of the media universe.
Does HBO release ratings numbers? If so, how is Game Theory with Bomani Jones doing?
— David C.
Numbers pop up here and there, and are often cited by agenda-driven culture warriors, but viewership is only part of the equation for subscription networks like HBO. It aired late on Sunday nights, so it doesn’t surprise me to see numbers under 100,000. Here’s what matters for now: It’s been renewed for a second season.
Sounds like Netflix is going to start cracking down on password sharing (although I don’t know how this will work). Do you see this being commonplace going forward with streaming platforms? Secondary thought: Does password sharing factor into ratings?
— Andy J.
Password sharing crackdowns get headlines, but that’s not Netflix’s primary business problem. Losing subscribers because it isn’t matching the must-see TV of its rivals is a bigger issue. Price hikes don’t help, either. Netflix knows how many people are watching a program, and it sometimes discloses that information. Nielsen uses its panels to track minutes-viewed streaming for Netflix and a few other services such as Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu and Apple TV+. That said, streaming companies themselves have the fuller metrics. But remember, Nielsen has demographic data that the streamers and networks do not, which is why it’s numbers are used to set advertising rates.
Why does MLB continuously screw over fans willing to pay money by blacking out games or having them on Apple/Prime instead of trying to find new customers that aren’t going to spend money? How is this a viable long-term plan?
— Matt W.
MLB doesn’t produce any games itself. The national networks and regional sports networks do that under broadcast rights deals. Exclusivity is part of that, despite angering same fans. Why? Cash. RSN deals are the lifeblood of these teams, even if the model is creaky. Until that system is replaced – and eventually I think it will be – this is the reality. As for streaming-only games, leagues and partners like Apple and Amazon are toe-dipping in what they see as the likely future of live sports consumption. Making fans pay…
Read More: On Apple, Amazon and world domination, blackouts, ratings, NFTs and more: sports