The key phrase there is "out of market." If he lived in Philadelphia, he'd be able to watch every Eagles game on over-the-air TV for the cost of an antenna. There's another hack that I've been doing since my 20s, which is called "watching the game at a bar that has Sunday Ticket." That would likely be cheaper than his strategic patchwork of cancelling and un-cancelling.
Furthermore, this is only a problem for this fan because the Eagles are a successful marquee team that is frequently selected for national games by the streaming services. If he were a fan of, say, the Arizona Cardinals, it would be a lot less complicated.
I think it's worth remembering how unique this moment in history is. You never got to see every game on television. Historically, you saw 3 games in the Sunday slot, which later expanded to those 3 games + Monday night, then those 3 games + Sunday and Monday nights, and finally those 3 games + Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights. The NFL is under no obligation to make all of its games available at all, either on cable or streaming.
And honestly, it's only the most passionate of fans who want to see every game. Everyone was just fine until not that long ago with not seeing every game in its entirety. You'd watch the highlights or read about the other games in the sports section. And most people are STILL fine with that-- what happens is that with the option of seeing every game, some fans will pay a lot of money for that privilege. Which is fine-- charging them a lot of money shouldn't actually be any more controversial that the markups on official souvenirs at the team store. These things are all just "ways to get the most passionate fans to spend more money", which is sports marketing 101.
I think there IS a Sports Broadcasting Act concern if they start taking games OFF of free TV. So far this has only happened to the Thursday Night games nobody cares about and which were only added not long ago. But if it becomes the case that you can only get MNF on Streaming, or SNF, or one of the 3 Sunday games, that's probably a red line.
But people who want to watch every game? The NFL can charge them whatever the market will bear, as far as I am concerned. They're freaks.
This antitrust probe of the NFL is complete nonsense- a tiny percentage of games are streaming-exclusive- and the government would have a much stronger case, for the same thing, against MLB or the NBA.
I’m old enough to remember when local game was blacked out if it was not a sellout, and you were basically out of luck. We don’t appreciate how good we have it.
Relatedly, price maintenance is good. All games available at one source for a bargain price would result in a lot of people treating them like disposable slop.
While it's easy to pick on the NFL as they remain the undisputed behemoth of the sports world and Ethan is right to point out the annoyance of the complexity inherent in multiple TV partners, it’s only fair to point out the fallacy in criticism of the NFL's media pricing/distribution strategy of their games.
Many of us are old enough to remember when there were only three NFL games available on network TV on Sunday afternoon and one game on Monday night. Today, there are still three games shown on network TV on Sunday afternoon and one game on Sunday night.
Additionally, almost all cable/streaming plans include ESPN and most consumers have Amazon Prime for free shipping so current NFL fans have access to two more weekly games than we used to.
Finally, the price of NFL Sunday Ticket was $250+ in 2006 which is $412 today adjusted for inflation in 2026 - the midway price point at which it's currently offered.
Therefore, if we just apply a modicum of historical reference to the issue, the reality is the NFL has done an excellent job of maintaining affordable access to their games over the last 20-30 years.
I’ve been moderately devoted NFL fan most of my life, but paying for television, let alone “Sunday Ticket” just doesn’t fit my budget. So I bought a $45 tv and a $15 antenna and find I’m more than satisfied with this traditional American diet of football viewing (Amazon’s Thursday night games are like a special dessert). That said, recently went to to watch the Final Four on my little set-up, and what do you know, precisely none of the three games are carried by an over-the-airwaves broadcaster any longer! Hope this isn’t what’s in store with the NFL, but if it is I guess I’ll find some other way to occupy my time
Ryan here — the Eagles fan in question. Appreciate the write-up, Ethan. You nailed it: watching your team shouldn’t be a part-time job. No one wants to fight the streaming industrial complex every Sunday afternoon.
For people saying we get to see every game on TV: that was true 20 years ago. And I had Tivo, I could record everything, I could easily skip through commercials, I could flip channels between games in 1 second, I didnt have to wait for any apps to load.
Streaming is obviously a huge upgrade for non-sports. But for sports it's way worse than it was in 2005.
As an antitrust lawyer, I find the argument about a changed NFL marketplace to be interesting. It reminds me of the Paramount Consent Decrees being lifted a few years ago. For over half a century, they prevented Hollywood studios from owning the means of production and distribution (i.e., theaters). But they became anachronistic with the rise of streaming.
The key phrase there is "out of market." If he lived in Philadelphia, he'd be able to watch every Eagles game on over-the-air TV for the cost of an antenna. There's another hack that I've been doing since my 20s, which is called "watching the game at a bar that has Sunday Ticket." That would likely be cheaper than his strategic patchwork of cancelling and un-cancelling.
I'm the fan in the piece. The bar hack is solid — I did it for years. Two kids under three changed that math pretty quick.
Furthermore, this is only a problem for this fan because the Eagles are a successful marquee team that is frequently selected for national games by the streaming services. If he were a fan of, say, the Arizona Cardinals, it would be a lot less complicated.
I think it's worth remembering how unique this moment in history is. You never got to see every game on television. Historically, you saw 3 games in the Sunday slot, which later expanded to those 3 games + Monday night, then those 3 games + Sunday and Monday nights, and finally those 3 games + Thursday, Sunday, and Monday nights. The NFL is under no obligation to make all of its games available at all, either on cable or streaming.
And honestly, it's only the most passionate of fans who want to see every game. Everyone was just fine until not that long ago with not seeing every game in its entirety. You'd watch the highlights or read about the other games in the sports section. And most people are STILL fine with that-- what happens is that with the option of seeing every game, some fans will pay a lot of money for that privilege. Which is fine-- charging them a lot of money shouldn't actually be any more controversial that the markups on official souvenirs at the team store. These things are all just "ways to get the most passionate fans to spend more money", which is sports marketing 101.
I think there IS a Sports Broadcasting Act concern if they start taking games OFF of free TV. So far this has only happened to the Thursday Night games nobody cares about and which were only added not long ago. But if it becomes the case that you can only get MNF on Streaming, or SNF, or one of the 3 Sunday games, that's probably a red line.
But people who want to watch every game? The NFL can charge them whatever the market will bear, as far as I am concerned. They're freaks.
This antitrust probe of the NFL is complete nonsense- a tiny percentage of games are streaming-exclusive- and the government would have a much stronger case, for the same thing, against MLB or the NBA.
I’m old enough to remember when local game was blacked out if it was not a sellout, and you were basically out of luck. We don’t appreciate how good we have it.
Relatedly, price maintenance is good. All games available at one source for a bargain price would result in a lot of people treating them like disposable slop.
While it's easy to pick on the NFL as they remain the undisputed behemoth of the sports world and Ethan is right to point out the annoyance of the complexity inherent in multiple TV partners, it’s only fair to point out the fallacy in criticism of the NFL's media pricing/distribution strategy of their games.
Many of us are old enough to remember when there were only three NFL games available on network TV on Sunday afternoon and one game on Monday night. Today, there are still three games shown on network TV on Sunday afternoon and one game on Sunday night.
Additionally, almost all cable/streaming plans include ESPN and most consumers have Amazon Prime for free shipping so current NFL fans have access to two more weekly games than we used to.
Finally, the price of NFL Sunday Ticket was $250+ in 2006 which is $412 today adjusted for inflation in 2026 - the midway price point at which it's currently offered.
Therefore, if we just apply a modicum of historical reference to the issue, the reality is the NFL has done an excellent job of maintaining affordable access to their games over the last 20-30 years.
Why does Bradley Cooper have “FAG” written on his forehead?
I have 2 different streamers for european football but at least i can pick any game
I’ve been moderately devoted NFL fan most of my life, but paying for television, let alone “Sunday Ticket” just doesn’t fit my budget. So I bought a $45 tv and a $15 antenna and find I’m more than satisfied with this traditional American diet of football viewing (Amazon’s Thursday night games are like a special dessert). That said, recently went to to watch the Final Four on my little set-up, and what do you know, precisely none of the three games are carried by an over-the-airwaves broadcaster any longer! Hope this isn’t what’s in store with the NFL, but if it is I guess I’ll find some other way to occupy my time
Ryan here — the Eagles fan in question. Appreciate the write-up, Ethan. You nailed it: watching your team shouldn’t be a part-time job. No one wants to fight the streaming industrial complex every Sunday afternoon.
Happy to answer any questions.
Go Birds.
For people saying we get to see every game on TV: that was true 20 years ago. And I had Tivo, I could record everything, I could easily skip through commercials, I could flip channels between games in 1 second, I didnt have to wait for any apps to load.
Streaming is obviously a huge upgrade for non-sports. But for sports it's way worse than it was in 2005.
As an antitrust lawyer, I find the argument about a changed NFL marketplace to be interesting. It reminds me of the Paramount Consent Decrees being lifted a few years ago. For over half a century, they prevented Hollywood studios from owning the means of production and distribution (i.e., theaters). But they became anachronistic with the rise of streaming.
Great article Ethan. Going to print out and send to my neighbor who's a diehard eagles fan