The Rising Cost of Sports Fandom
Why it's hard to be a sports fan today
Welcome back to Club Sportico, where we break down the intersection of sports and money—with an extra bit of humor and opinion. Today, we’re talking about you, the fan.
Two years ago, Joon Lee left ESPN, transitioning from being a sportswriter back to being a full-time sports fan. And he was troubled by what he saw.
Watching sports now required planning ahead, keeping track of where games aired and what streaming services he had to buy to watch them. Meanwhile, friends and family were tuning out. And at the same time, team owners appeared more interested in growing internationally than maintaining their franchises’ status as local, cultural institutions.Â
Lee is not alone. His opinion piece in The New York Times this week triggered a wave of conversation about the pain points of modern day fandom. This week, he joined our podcast to talk about what has changed.
Eventually, it could be the leagues themselves that lose out. While being a sports fan has gotten more complicated in recent decades, myriad entertainment alternatives have risen up—engrossing video games, infinite streaming services, individualized social media feeds. Watching sports was the default evening option for a generation of fans. The next generation has other options.Â
For those of us already stuck being sports fans for life, we have options too, Lee argues. Just look to the U.K., where regular fan protests keep owners in line. The government has a role to play as well. U.S. law put limits on major leagues’ TV strategies back in the ‘60s, while offering monopoly status. Local governments have their own leverage via team-friendly tax policy.Â
Give the episode a listen, and then let us know what you think! Is it getting harder for you to remain a sports fan?
Club Sportico is a community organized by Sportico, a digital media company launched in 2020 to cover the business side of sports. You can read breaking news, smart analysis, and in-depth features from Eben, Jacob and their colleagues at Sportico.com, and listen to the Sporticast podcast wherever you get your audio. Contact us at club@sportico.com.