The NFL is the latest sport to get caught up in the streaming wars. Photo / Getty
OPINION:
1. Full power ahead
A work colleague who was at least two years older than me recently complained about the problems of switching back and forth between live sports on a streaming service compared to the channel surfing that comes with it
easily on conventional television.
And he had a point, along with a foot in the grave. It’s a bit more complicated to juggle games on a streamer, and the few seconds of buffering to start a new feed adds up.
Unfortunately, there is no turning back for my wrecked colleague. While Sky and Spark are trading content in this country – as shown by the regaining of rights to the Premier League – the future is clear.
Last week it was reported that Apple was on the verge of securing the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, marking a monumental change for the most popular sport in the United States.
Considering that the fruit network became the first American company this year to reach a market value of $3 trillion, staging a $2.5 billion ($3.74 billion) NFL coup is comparatively loose change per year.
The streaming wars that disrupted content worldwide were always coming for esports and unfortunately for certain generations less enthusiastic about watching live games online, fans should get used to it.
2. Cricketer in Club vs Country match
Kane Williamson in action for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Photo / photo sport
Sorry for dragging my old workmate along, but streaming wasn’t the end of his grievances. And on that point I have to agree in part: It can be annoying to watch Kane Williamson on the kink in the IPL after he’s been denied that pleasure all summer.
There’s a reasonable explanation as to why the Black Caps skipper is sporting Sunrisers Hyderabad colors after a nagging elbow injury had left him on the sidelines since December: the lighter hitting load required for T20 meant he was still in this one Format could occur even though he couldn’t attract the whites.
But it’s also true that Sunrisers paid $2.7 million to keep Williamson’s services this season – and he wasn’t the only one who skipped Black Caps games to play in the IPL .
The dozen internationals missing from the Dutch series were not missed on the pitch except by fans starved for cricket in a Covid-ravaged summer.
But this is the new normal again. Club versus country battles have been raging in football for years. With the financial differences between these two sides widening, it’s no surprise that the fighting has spread to other codes.
3. With great power…
That’s especially true given that athletes are stronger than ever, beneficiaries of a long-overdue realignment in sport that places greater value on those who play the sport.
It may not be entirely desirable for fans who prefer their athletes to be paid little and say less, but athletes are obviously entitled to a bigger share of the huge revenue their skills generate.
Just like they have the right to communicate directly with fans through social media instead of through more traditional channels, even if those channels are really nice questions.
And they can play for whoever they want, whenever they want. Rugby sabbaticals will only increase as the wealth available abroad continues to eclipse the supply at home, and New Zealand rugby will become more cautious when it comes to selecting its stars for All Blacks selection to question.
Changing this particular policy seems a long way off, but athletes will only become more powerful as streamers flood the market with more money.
4. Safety first
Steve Thompson of England during the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final. Photo / Getty
Frightened by possible class action lawsuits from former players whose bodies are evidence of the risk contact sports can pose, the sport is becoming safer.
This super rugby season has provided ample evidence of that as the shift at the Tasman level did nothing to stem the tide of red cards.
The game is over, some might think, and today’s athletes just aren’t as hardened by all the steaks and cigarettes.
But such anachronisms are not taken seriously in most corners of the sport, not when we hear from players like former England hooker Steve Thompson.
Thompson, whose new memoir describes his struggles with what he calls “brain damage” he suffered from rugby, does not recall playing and winning the 2003 World Cup final.
While its history is extraordinary, it is not an aberration, and new security measures are clearly both necessary and permanent.
There will be more. Football without a header may seem absurd, but prominent ex-professionals like England striker Gary Lineker are among those who have advocated such radical change.
5. Anticompetitive Conduct
Hardly anyone of any age will nostalgically remember better times in the Bundesliga. But anyone who has enjoyed their sporting competition should be concerned that Bayern Munich will win their 10th straight championship title.
The German giants are hardly the only ones to exercise unsportsmanlike dominance over domestic rivals.
Sporting Intelligence’s Nick Harris calculated that by the end of this 30th season of the English Premier League, 82 per cent of the 90 major domestic trophies will have been won by six clubs: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Leicester.
In contrast, in the 30 years leading up to the Premier League, the top six clubs won 59 per cent of major domestic prizes.
This trend, like every other in this article, will not reverse, not as long as oil-rich nation-states continue to wash their reputations through football clubs.
Parity in football is disappearing; The only way unannounced clubs can thrive now is with a sugar daddy/royal family.
And if the message isn’t clear, maybe I can explain it in a format boomers will understand: memes.
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