Watching sports: a special series from The Verge
It should be simple to stream live TV at home.
But depending on the sport, you might be signing up (and paying handsomely) for a lot of different services just to keep up.
There are the rare leagues, like Major League Soccer, that can be watched on a single channel. (In the US, every match can be viewed live on Apple TV Plus.) But keeping up with most sports resembles, say, tennis, where the rights for its four major tournaments are scattered across several different platforms.
And in general, as the large streaming platforms go toe-to-toe with the legacy broadcast companies transitioning to digital, the much-sought-after rights have positioned leagues to make a lot of money. The adverse effect for viewers is that many professional sports are now available “exclusively” in many different places.
Basically, watching sports has never been easier. And it’s also never been harder.
The high cost of NFL streaming optionsIn the US, you can stream the majority of live NFL games through Sunday Ticket, a full season of which costs $349, plus you’ll need to be subscribed to YouTube TV at $72.99 a month. For six months of football ($437.94), from week one to Super Bowl Sunday, that brings...