Streaming rights to professional sports are a bit of a mess that can be hard to parse on the surface, with giant corporations securing and losing broadcast rights seemingly every other day. Currently, there are no legal ways for a streaming service to cover all major professional or collegiate-level sports on a single platform. You still have to pay for cable to watch every game (that’s likely by design).
There are a lot of variables in the air right now about when Max will start streaming major sports leagues and what it will cost. When it comes to live content, Amazon, Paramount, and Peacock are eating Max’s lunch. Hopefully, this won’t result in exclusivity contracts that could blackout local media coverage for people who don’t subscribe to Max or other sports streaming platforms. Additionally, watching live sports is already confusing enough without paying for cable, and yet another streaming service adding sports seems redundant at best.