WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 For many dedicated sports fans, keeping up with their favorite teams has become a juggling act.<\/p>\n
Activate an NFL package in August, unsubscribe after the Super Bowl and before the NBA playoffs get underway, then subscribe to the NBA\u2019s service. Grudgingly keep paying the cable bill because it\u2019s the only way to get the local baseball team. Throw in a subscription to ESPN\u2019s new direct-to-consumer streaming service for college football.<\/p>\n
This patchwork of expensive subscriptions, cable packages and password shares is common for many sports fans, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research<\/a>, and it leaves them beholden to multiple platforms at a cost no one seems to like.<\/p>\n About 4 in 10 people who follow sports \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d closely use cable or satellite TV and a sports-only streaming platform, according to the poll, compared with about 2 in 10 people who follow sports \u201csomewhat\u201d closely.<\/p>\n For many fans \u2014 particularly those who want to watch out-of-market teams or follow regular-season play closely \u2014 there\u2019s no other option. Creating a more seamless form of live sports distribution means essentially rebuilding the cable bundles many have ditched over the last few years.<\/p>\n New services are emerging \u2014 most recently, ESPN\u2019s latest direct-to-consumer streaming service<\/a>, which debuted in August \u2014 but for the most part, sports fans stick to multiple platforms and subscriptions. Sometimes, they choose instead to stop regularly watching a favorite sport or team.<\/p>\n Streaming, cable \u2014 or both<\/p>\n The people who are happiest with the availability of sports events are the ones who use multiple platforms, according to the poll.<\/p>\n About 6 in 10 of U.S. adults who report using cable and streaming services say they are \u201csomewhat\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d satisfied with the availability of sports events they want to watch, compared with just over half who use only sports streaming services and around 3 in 10 who just have cable.<\/p>\n John So, 45, was a relatively early cord-cutter, dropping his DirecTV cable subscription in 2020 in favor of the company\u2019s less expensive streaming service. So, who manages a pipeline supply fabrication business in Houston, said he appreciates the flexibility of being able to stream across multiple devices. <\/p>\n But he sometimes struggles with video quality and turns to other streaming services \u2014 Disney+ with ESPN and Hulu integrations or Paramount Plus \u2014 when the quality of his DirecTV stream drops out.<\/p>\n And even though he can access almost all of the local Houston Texans games, he sometimes struggles to watch the local NBA and MLB franchises.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say I\u2019m content. I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m happy (with the availability of sports),\u201d So said. \u201cEven though I\u2019m not an avid watcher of regular-season games, it\u2019s sort of a feedback loop. The lack of availability of local games makes me not an avid watcher. The fact I need to pay an extra $15 or $16 a month for the local sports network package is a disincentive for me to become an active watcher.\u201d<\/p>\n Serious sports fans are more likely to be using sports-only streaming platforms to begin with. People who follow sports \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d closely report higher usage of sports-only streaming platforms, such as MLB.TV, NFL Sunday Ticket or NBA League Pass. About 6 in 10 people who follow sports \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d closely use sports-only streaming platforms, compared with about 3 in 10 people who follow sports \u201csomewhat\u201d closely. Very few non-fans use these platforms.<\/p>\n Sports fans are also less likely to be cord-cutters, the AP-NORC poll found. People who follow sports \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d closely are especially likely to say they use cable or satellite TV, with about 6 in 10 saying they use traditional TV options, like cable and satellite. Approximately 40% of people who follow sports \u201csomewhat\u201d closely say the same, as did roughly one-third of people who don\u2019t follow sports closely.<\/p>\n Subscribe, unsubscribe and borrow your friend\u2019s password<\/p>\n The poll also found that sports fans are likelier to churn through streaming services than non-sports fans.<\/p>\n About 6 in 10 sports fans say they have subscribed to a streaming service for a specific show or sports season in the past year, while about half have canceled a streaming service after finishing a specific show or sports season.<\/p>\n People who follow sports \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery\u201d closely are especially likely to say they\u2019ve subscribed or canceled for a specific show or season. That\u2019s also true of people who use sports streaming platforms. According to the poll, about two-thirds of people who currently use sports streaming platforms have subscribed to a streaming service for a specific show or season, compared with about one-third of people who don\u2019t use these platforms.<\/p>\n Randy Alvarez, 35, said he can get some of what he wants to watch on YouTube TV, an online alternative to TV. He got rid of cable in 2022 and hasn\u2019t missed it, but he described his approach as a \u201chodgepodge\u201d of streaming, premium channels and password-sharing. <\/p>\n The Los Angeles-based educator and administrator follows two out-of-market teams with ties to the Bay Area: the Las Vegas Raiders ( formerly of Oakland<\/a> ) and the Golden State Warriors. But without adding on NFL Sunday Ticket and NBA League Pass, which he said are too expensive, he\u2019s stuck cobbling together what he can get from online streams and whatever is broadcast nationally. <\/p>\n Sometimes, that means he\u2019s out of luck. The four-time NBA champion Warriors<\/a>, at least, have games on TNT and ABC, Alvarez said. The Raiders? Well, not so much<\/a>. <\/p>\n Alvarez isn\u2019t alone in his approach. Nearly half of sports fans say they\u2019ve shared a password<\/a> or had a password shared with them, compared with 30% of people who follow sports \u201cnot very\u201d or \u201cnot at all\u201d closely.<\/p>\n Most are unhappy about the cost<\/p>\n One area where most sports fans are in agreement: It\u2019s expensive.<\/p>\n About half of people who follow sports at least \u201csomewhat\u201d closely say they are dissatisfied with the cost of the streaming and cable services they use, and about another quarter were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. <\/p>\n