When the Federal Communications Commission was formed in 1934, the rules and regulations were aimed at regulating radio. Its specific objective at the time was “to make available so far as possible, to all the people of the United States, without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, rapid, efficient, nationwide, and world-wide wire and radio communication services with adequate facilities at reasonable charges.”
Technology like television, the Internet, and smartphones were the stuff of comic-book science fiction 92 years ago.
And the business models for communication have changed, with the advent of pay-to-use communications, such as cable television, pay-per-view, subscription paywalls for websites, and streaming services.
It’s now gotten to the point where streaming services have now completely locked out some women’s sports properties from their fans. Last weekend, the championship final of the NWSL Challenge Cup was held between Gotham FC and the Kansas City Current. Unless you had an Amazon Prime subscription, you could not see the game.
Tuesday night, the championship final of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup will take place between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces. Again, if you don’t have an Amazon Prime subscription, you’re not going to be able to watch.
And next year, one of the world’s biggest sporting events in the world, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, is going to be taking place in Brazil. If you don’t have a Netflix subscription, you’re not going to be able to see it.
It’s amazing that, with the proliferation of sports television options outside of ESPN, the stranglehold of pay-per-view is increasing, rather than the various sports products showing out all over the place.
I think that streaming is the worst thing to happen to many sports leagues, despite the amount of revenue that is being claimed. You’re seeing a number of sports leagues — even in highly established sports such as football and auto racing — having to modify the availability of their broadcasts.
Why? The path of least resistance. I think, for example, the Major League Soccer paywall is a complete disaster for Apple TV because you can watch all the soccer you want on some digital networks like CBS Sports Golazo. Formula 1 has shot itself in the foot because every single Indy Car race is available on good old-fashioned over-the-air Fox. And on a number of occasions, some of the ESPN European matches in the Bundesliga and La Liga have now been showing up on ABC.
It’s now gotten to the point where there are Congressional investigations into paywalls, and whether sports leagues’ antitrust exemptions are going to be imperiled. And there is also a Department of Justice investigation being announced, specifically whether the NFL is harming consumers.
Sounds to me like the DoJ could be shooting fish in a barrel, given what is going on in the women’s sports space.