Undeniably, sports television is seeing a shift from strictly linear television to being a valuable asset for streaming platforms. Also, undeniably, for a portion of sports fans, the decision to move games onto streaming platforms is unpopular. But WFAN morning show host Gregg Giannotti asked Wednesday morning during Boomer & Gio just when will it be normal to go to a streaming platform to find the game you’re looking for.
“When do you think we’re gonna get to the point where the streaming stuff is no longer a problem for people? Is that gonna happen in the next year? Two years? Because every time that a game shows up not on cable we’re still getting more complaints than anything else,” Gregg Giannotti said.
“I try to think back to when I first started getting into Netflix. I wanna say it was 2015 or ’16, I’d say. And I really got into all that stuff. Now it’s an easy thing,” co-host Boomer Esiason said. “You just go onto Netflix, you pick what you want, you watch it and I’m very used to it. I just think, for the sports fan, we’re not used to going to find it yet there. Whether it be Amazon or Apple(TV)+ or wherever it may be. We’re just not used to doing that yet.”
“Yeah, but we watch all this other stuff,”Giannoti countered. “Like a Netflix show, like Stranger Things that everybody seems to be watching or everybody’s talking about. Everybody can find it, but why is it when a Yankee game or a Mets game is on a streaming service and people are freaking out? Is it because we’re not used to it or is it because the fan is older?”
“Or because they don’t have the TV that has the function on their TV. You may not have a smart TV. You may not have AppleTV,” said Esiason. “You may not have Roku. You may not have hacked a Fire Stick. You may not have that stuff. You may just have your basic cable package that includes your YES (Network) and your SNY. And you may not have the ability to Chromecast it or project it off your iPad. Maybe you don’t have an iPad. Maybe you don’t have an iPhone.”
Esiason then went on to say that fans just may not want to pay for extra streaming services in the midst of a recession and inflation.
The conversation comes after the New York Yankees played the New York Mets Tuesday night on Amazon Prime Video. Thursday Night Football will be exclusive to Amazon Prime Video this fall. Peacock and AppleTV+ both have exclusive MLB broadcasts, and more and more college football finds its way to ESPN+ every year, leading to consternation from sports fans about the future of linear television.
